Love Conquers All
by Catindahat
Summary: A figure from Arthur's past arrives with news of another sorcerer attack. She comes as a surprise to everyone, but she's hiding secrets none of them could have guessed. Romance is blossoming in Camelot but can it survive the tests that are to come?
1. Chapter 1

**This is very loosely based on the original legend of Arthur though it may not pan out the way you expect. I'd really like to know what everyone thinks so please review. Constructive criticism is welcome but please no flamers. Thanks and enjoy. x**

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Chapter 1

Merlin was bored. Arthur was sitting in while his father listened to the peasant's petitions. Arthur had decided that if he had to suffer, then so did Merlin. He'd been stood at the back attending Arthur for hours, listening to peasant after peasant's request. It always seemed to boil down to the same things; money, land or women and Merlin's feet were starting to ache. Although, on reflection, this was a welcome break from Arthur and Gaius's tasks. His work never seemed to be done and no matter how hard he tried there was always something wrong with it. Sometimes Merlin just wanted to scream, but he knew he that he had to help Arthur as he was incapable of looking after himself.

Merlin was just about to see if he could have a nap standing up when he heard a commotion in the hallway. The whole room looked at the doors bemused, wondering what was going on. They didn't have to wonder for long as the doors burst open and a girl rushed in. She was very short, however Merlin thought she must be about his and Arthur's age despite her height. Her long black hair fell down almost to her waist and her porcelain skin glittered in the sunlight. Merlin thought she looked like an angel regardless of her flustered state.

She scanned the room frantically, clearly searching for someone. When her eyes reached the top of the room where the two Pendragons had risen out of their chairs, about to investigate the commotion, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Arthur!" She cried, relieved, a small smile appearing on her face.

Merlin tore his eyes away from the girl and looked over at his master. His look of shock was almost comical, but Merlin knew him well enough by now to spot the flash of recognition in his eyes.

"Isabelle?" Arthur asked bemused.

"Oh thank God." She whispered gladly.

Ignoring everyone else the girl ran across the room and threw herself into Arthur's arms. He looked startled but wrapped his arms around her comfortingly. Merlin watched him stroke her hair as she sobbed, trembling, into his shoulder. Arthur frowned down at the girl in his arms. He didn't know what she was doing here. Last thing he'd heard she was back home with her family organising a tournament. He could tell something was wrong as she was clearly distraught, but a part of him was glad she was here, he hadn't seen her in a long time and could do with some excitement.

Merlin was confused. He didn't know who this girl was but Arthur clearly did. Uther, who was stood next to the embracing couple, didn't seem too concerned that a strange girl had just interrupted his meeting. If anything he looked worried for her which surprised Merlin. Uther never seemed to care about anyone other than himself, Arthur and Morgana; and sometimes he didn't show that very well.

Gwen had moved over to Merlin and was watching the couple with a hurt look in her eyes. Merlin smiled to himself. He knew how Gwen felt for Arthur, though she would never admit it, and he also knew that Arthur felt the same for Gwen. Looking at him with this girl, however you wouldn't know it.

"Who is that?" Gwen asked Merlin her eyes never leaving the couple.

"I haven't got a clue. Although Arthur seems to know her quite well." Merlin said with a hint of a smile.

Gwen shot him a nasty look then sighed.

"Well she's defiantly a noble."

"How do you know that? She could just be some peasant." Merlin said trying to comfort her, however not really believing it himself.

"Her dress is too luxurious for her to be a peasant. I spend all day around Morgana's; I know what I'm talking about."

She sighed sadly. It seems Arthur has found someone of his own class, she thought miserably. She hadn't really expected anything else as it was clear that despite their kiss, he didn't care for her the way she did him.

Arthur was holding the shaking girl tightly; stroking her hair and whispering comforting words in her ear trying to try and calm her down. Eventually she stopped shaking and her sobs died away. She drew back from Arthur who inspected her face, worried.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

She nodded silently, feeling that she would end up crying again if she spoke. She turned to Uther preparing to explain everything to him, and face his anger at her interruption. Instead he opened his arms and pulled her into a swift embrace.

"My dear, are you okay?" He asked as they held each other.

She pulled back and looked up at the man who had been like a second father to her for as long as she could remember. He looked older somehow as if stress had aged him. She wondered how his relationship with Arthur was as she'd seen them become more and more strained as Arthur grew older and gained opinions of his own.

"Yes thank you." She smiled at him, "Sorry I didn't mean to break down on you like that."

"It's okay." Uther said being strangely accommodating, "Now Isabelle, tell me what happened."

Isabelle glanced at Arthur, who smiled at her encouragingly. She looked back at Uther, took a deep breath and began her tale.

"It was terrible. We were celebrating the start of our jousting tournament. I was sat outside with father and Tristan watching the parades when they attacked. These beasts came out of nowhere. We couldn't stop them, our weapons just bounced off them. They destroyed everything in sight." Her voice wavered but she continued shakily, "They killed father. He told me to go; there was nothing I could do. I managed to get my brother out, but father wasn't quick enough. I took Tristan and we hid in the forest, I didn't know what else to do. But it was so strange. We watched the creatures rampaging everywhere, then suddenly they just disappeared. We're repairing things as best we can but there's so much damage. Uncle is acting as regent for the moment. I left Tristan with him and came here."

Having finished her speech she fell silent. Tears had leaked down her face again while she was talking and she brushed them away angrily, waiting for Uther's response.

Uther inspected the fragile girl in front of him. He didn't doubt a word she had said but something was worrying him, something he didn't really want to know the answer to.

"Was it magic?" He asked slowly, bracing himself for the answer.

Isabelle didn't say anything, just nodded fearfully. Uther sighed resigned. He looked at Isabelle's anxious expression and knew that wasn't the end of her story. He had known her since she was a baby and he knew when she wasn't telling him something.

"That's not all is it?" He asked her kindly.

She looked up at him surprised and a small smile appeared on her face.

"No."

She sighed sadly and tears appeared in her eyes again.

"There was a message on the wall inside the castle but the castle hadn't been breached."

Isabelle's voice caught in her throat at the memory. The words glistening on the wall in blood were burned into her mind. Those terrible words that had changed her life.

"Isabelle?"

She looked up at Uther knowing the question that was coming next and dreading his reaction to her answer.

"What did it say Isabelle?" Arthur prompted softly.

She looked up at him with unseeing eyes, the words burned in front of her vision. Her eyes clouded over as she recited them mechanically in a daze, reliving the events of that day.

"Isabelle du Fouwe you are a traitor to your kind. This is all because of you."

Silence followed her words then the room broke into uproar. Everyone seemed to be voicing their opinions at once. Merlin looked round at the reactions of the room. Most people looked shocked by her words and some looked a little scared. Uther's unreadable mask had slipped and he looked shocked and angry. However that was nothing compared to the look of anger on Arthur's face, although their anger didn't seemed to be directed at Isabelle. Merlin looked back at her and once again felt the desire to wrap her in his arms and comfort her. He was dragged out of his fantasy by Gwen whispering in his ear.

"...And what does that even mean? It's so weird. Although I knew there was something fishy about her."

Merlin wasn't really paying attention to her, his eyes still fixed on Isabelle. Gwen opened her mouth to speak again but Merlin hushed her, intent on the noble's conversation.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know what else to do. It's all my fault." She whispered quietly tears welling up in her eyes again.

"Don't say that Isabelle. It wasn't your fault." Uther said forcefully grabbing her hands.

She smiled weakly at him then continued.

"Uncle thought I might be in danger and our defences have been badly damaged. Camelot has the best reputation for protection against sorcerers and father always thought so highly of you and, well I spent most of my childhood here so uncle thought that I'd be safer here."

She looked back at the floor, waiting for Uther's reply. She didn't want to be a burden to them but she didn't really know what else to do. Deep down inside she was scared. Scared of what was to come and what she may have inadvertently caused. There was no way she was going to admit her fear however; she was too stubborn. Anyway once this was all over, Arthur would never let her live it down.

"My dear of course you can stay here, you are always welcome. Camelot has the best defence system in the realm. You will be safe here."

Isabelle's face lit up and she threw her arms around him happily.

"Thank you My Lord."

"I'm sure you're tired after your journey. Arthur will take you to your room and make sure you have everything you need."

Isabelle pulled back and smiled widely again at Uther.

"Thank you." She repeated and followed Arthur wearily out of the hall.

Arthur gestured at Merlin to follow them as he led Isabelle through the doors.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's another one for you. Hope you enjoy it. Once you've finished please press the green button at the bottom and leave a review, they always make me smile.**

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Chapter 2

Merlin caught Arthur and Isabelle up as they walked down the corridor. They were in mid conversation and their easy banter once again made Merlin wonder about their relationship and who this girl really was. Isabelle was wiping the tears from her face angrily.

"...I hate crying, well you know that. I just feel so..." She tailed off sadly.

"Getting soft in your old age?" Arthur teased earning himself a punch on the arm from Isabelle.

"At least I can look after myself without needing a servant to do everything for me." She shot back with a smile.

Merlin followed them; listening to them bickering back and forth. He was still wondering why Arthur had brought him. He presumed it was Arthur being a prat as usual, dragging him around in case he needed his shoes polished or something equally stupid. Or maybe he was waiting to surprise Merlin with a huge list of jobs for him to do in an impossibly small space of time.

Merlin was still insulting his master inside his head when one of the guards came up and whispered something in Arthur's ear. He saw Arthur's expression of annoyance and smiled to himself. Unfortunately Arthur saw this and threw him a dirty look, then turned back to Isabelle.

"Sorry I've got to deal with something but Merlin will show you to your room. If you need anything just ask him. That is if you don't mind it being broken or taking an age to be done."

Arthur pulled a triumphant face at Merlin whose cheeks had reddened at Arthur's words. He knew he wasn't the world's greatest servant but he tried his best. He couldn't count the number of times he'd saved Arthur's life without once receiving any credit. For once he wished Arthur would appreciate something he'd done. He looked back at the nobles to see that Isabelle had thumped Arthur again, who was now pretending to be gravely injured.

"You're so mean. I think I liked the old Arthur better, he wasn't mean. Oh wait a minute..." She paused, pretending to think about it, "Yeah he was."

Arthur pulled a face at her and started down the corridor. Isabelle stuck her tongue out at his retreating back. She and Merlin set off again.

"Are you two always like that?" Merlin asked curious.

He then realised that he wasn't talking to Gwen or Morgana, or even Arthur, and he knew this wasn't the level of respect he was supposed to show guests. If Arthur found out he'd probably put him in the stocks again.

"My Lady." He added, fumbling his words with embarrassment.

Isabelle chuckled softly at his discomfort.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to intrude." He added sheepishly.

"There's no need to apologise." She said with a smile, "And please not 'My Lady', just Isabelle will do."

She sighed as she considered his question.

"I'd like to say we aren't always like that, but we kind of are; always have been really."

"How do you know Arthur?" Merlin asked intrigued.

"Well his father and my father were really good friends. My brother and I used to come here or Arthur and his father used to come and visit us at Lyonesse. I've known Arthur as long as I can remember. I haven't seen him in a while though. Things have been pretty chaotic for a long time." She said sadly; then she brightened, "Still it's nice to be back. This place hasn't changed a bit."

Merlin smiled at the childlike look of delight on Isabelle's face. They had reached the guest quarters and Merlin pushed the doors to Isabelle's new chambers open. She walked in and looked round at the large room in awe. Merlin hesitated by the door, unsure of what to do. He cleared his throat and spoke.

"It's probably not what you're used to but I hope you'll be comfortable."

Isabelle looked at him incredulous.

"Not what I'm used to? This is wonderful." She grinned.

She turned back to Merlin with a look of wonder on her face. He smiled shyly at her, pleased at her look of delight.

"Well if you need anything Arthur's chambers are just down the hall, just ask we'll be happy to help"

Merlin turned to leave but Isabelle called after him.

"Merlin? Can I ask you something?"

Merlin turned back to face her hesitantly.

"Is Arthur still as big a prat as he used to be?"

Merlin relaxed and laughed softly.

"And I thought he was only being a prat to torture me."

"Oh he was always like that. I remember this one time; he must have been about 6. Anyway we were down by the river throwing stones off the bridge into the water, seeing who could get theirs the furthest. He had his teddy bear with him; he used to carry it everywhere. Somehow he managed to drop it in the river. He cried for hours and made Uther fish it out. It took them days to find it and when they finally did Arthur decided he didn't want it anymore, because it smelt of fish."

Both Isabelle and Merlin burst out laughing and Merlin moved back into the room.

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Arthur found them there later, sat on the bed swapping embarrassing stories about him. They looked up at him as he entered the room and they both burst out laughing.

"What is going on?" He asked bemused.

Neither Merlin nor Isabelle could speak as they were still laughing. Merlin was clutching his sides, struggling to breathe, and Isabelle was wiping away the tears that were pouring down her face. Arthur looked at them in disgust which just made them laugh harder.

"I get...it now." Merlin spluttered through his laughter, "You...were so...right."

Arthur just looked at the pair of them with raised eyebrows.

"Merlin, don't you have work to do?" He asked.

"Oh yeah." Merlin said jumping up and hurried out the room.

Arthur turned his gaze on Isabelle who smiled innocently at him.

"I leave you alone for half an hour and you've already found someone to flirt with." Arthur lectured her.

"Hey, I wasn't flirting." She said outraged, "Although..."

She leant back on the bed and inspected Merlin's ass as he left the room. Arthur rolled his eyes at her while Isabelle just giggled. Arthur took the seat Merlin had just vacated and waited for her giggles to pass. Isabelle finally managed to calm herself down and she looked at him innocently, knowing he had something to say. And sure enough, after a short pause Arthur started to speak.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't try and distract my manservant. He's clumsy and useless enough as it is without you distracting him and making him worse."

"Arthur! Don't be so mean, he can't be that bad."

"You know that table down the hall with the vase on it?" He asked and Isabelle nodded, "You can always tell he's coming because every time he walks past it, and I mean every time, he knocks it over."

Arthur smiled as Isabelle looked at him incredulous.

"Seriously?" She asked with a smile.

"Seriously. He'd be terrible at sneaking around as you'd hear him coming from a mile off. He's also a dreadful liar; you can always tell when he's hiding something."

Isabelle was about to stick up for Merlin when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Isabelle called, distracted from her conversation with Arthur.

Gwen entered the room with a pile of linen in her arms.

"I brought you some towels and spare sheets My Lady. Where do you want me to put them?" Gwen asked hesitantly.

Isabelle moved over to her and took the towels from the top of the pile.

"I'll put these away. Just dump the rest anywhere. Thank you." Isabelle smiled at the other girl and exited the room through the door at the back that led to her bathroom.

Gwen smiled back at her bemused. Isabelle wasn't anything like she'd been expecting. Most visitors to the castle just ordered her around or acted like she wasn't there, or both. But this girl had been nice and actually helped her! Gwen put the sheets on the table by the door. She turned to leave but stopped when she spotted Arthur stood by the bed. He had risen when Gwen had entered the room and was watching her intently.

"Oh Sire, I'm sorry I didn't see you there." She mumbled flustered, bobbing a small curtsy.

"Guinevere, I thought we'd dispensed with such formalities." Arthur said stiffly.

He was remembering their kiss and from the way her cheeks had reddened he thought she must be too. He'd savoured that memory but another, more painful, memory was fresh in his mind. The terrible way he'd treated her after they'd rescued her from Hengist.

"About what I said in the forest...."

He was cut off by Isabelle re-entering the room. She ignored Arthur and moved over to Gwen.

"Thank you, Gwen isn't it?" She asked.

Gwen just nodded, astounded that she knew her name in the first place let alone remembered it. She was completely confused, but before she could work Isabelle out, she remembered the other thing she was supposed to tell her.

"Oh also I noticed you didn't have any luggage with you when you arrived so if you need some more clothes I can fetch the court tailor in the morning and have her sort something out."

Isabelle's smile widened. She had been wondering about that but she knew Arthur and Uther wouldn't notice as they were useless when it came to that sort of thing. She had been planning on asking Morgana later but she was glad this girl had thought of it first. She would have to ask Arthur about her later and from the look he was giving Gwen he'd have quite a lot to tell.

Gwen smiled shyly back at her unsure of what to do and decided that leaving was the best option.

Isabelle turned and saw Arthur standing awkwardly beside the bed and her smile widened wickedly.

"There's no need to stand for me Arthur." She teased.

He threw her a withering look and sank back down on the bed dejected. Isabelle waited till Gwen had left then she moved to sit next to him and started grilling him.

"So, she was nice. Does she work in the castle?" She asked innocently.

Arthur was instantly suspicious, but answered her question anyway.

"Guinevere? She's Morgana's maid."

"Hmm. Well I might have to steal her from Morgana; she's more resourceful than most of our servants back home. I'm sure Morgana won't mind."

She inspected the dreamy look that was still on Arthur's face and realised that he wasn't listening to a word she was saying.

"And by the looks of things I'm not the only one who wants to steal her from Morgana." She said then giggled at the look of surprise on Arthur's face, "You have a go at me for flirting with your servant when you're clearly infatuated with Morgana's."

Arthur looked at her speechless. He opened and closed his mouth but nothing came out. Isabelle giggled again. She'd known Arthur her whole life but this was the first time she'd ever made him speechless. Thinking about it she decided she might actually prefer him this way. At least he couldn't insult anyone in this state.

"I...I'm not...not infatuated!" He spluttered outraged.

Isabelle just looked at him unconvinced as he floundered for a way to explain.

"I don't...I can't...She's a servant for Christ's sake!" Arthur exclaimed

"That never stopped you before. I seem to remember the way you broke up with me was I caught you with a servant." Isabelle teased, though there was a hint of sadness in her voice.

Arthur flushed again and looked very uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry for that. I was young and stupid." He sighed, "I thought we'd moved past that."

"We have, I was just proving my point that it shouldn't matter if she's a servant or not. If you like her as much as I think you do then whether she's a servant or a noble you shouldn't let that affect it."

Arthur sighed sadly.

"I fear I have lost that chance. There is no way I can fix what I've done now."

"Nothing is unfixable. I know you, if you want to fix it desperately enough, you will."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Merlin headed down the corridor towards Arthur's rooms. He was going to collect Arthur's chainmail for cleaning and although Merlin had a huge list of jobs to do that day, he was feeling strangely happy. He was finally no longer behind in his work, Arthur hadn't ended up in a near-death situation in which Merlin had to save him, for at least a week (which had to be some sort of record for him), and the new arrival at the castle seemed nice and unlikely to pile ten times more work on him. Even though Merlin didn't really understand why he grew hot at the thought of Isabelle he was glad that something seemed to be changing for the better round here, rather than getting him into more trouble.

He was about to round the corner onto the corridor which connected with Arthur's rooms, when he heard a loud bang coming from further down. Merlin froze at the sound he knew all too well; the vase being knocked off the table. He hesitated, unsure of what to do, then peered round the corner slowly, careful not to alert anyone to his presence.

He needn't have worried as the kissing couple probably wouldn't have noticed if he'd walked straight past them. He watched the man press the woman up against the wall, their lips intertwined, and heard her moan softly. Merlin would have recognised the man's blond hair anywhere; it was Arthur. This didn't surprise Merlin, as he knew Arthur was popular with the ladies, although he had thought that Arthur was too busy pining for Gwen to even contemplate making out with another woman. He was wrong. For this woman was certainly not Gwen, she was far too short. It took him a few minutes to work out who she was, but when he finally did it took all of his will power to stop himself from gasping out loud. It was Isabelle.

The moment this thought became clear he felt a sharp pain in his chest, which faded to a dull ache as he watched the couple. He put his hand over his heart, bemused at why this scene would cause him such pain. His happy mood had evaporated to be replaced with a dull misery. He turned away, unable to watch them any longer. If Arthur wanted his armour cleaned then he could do it himself, Merlin thought bitterly as he wondered back down the corridor, away from the scene that was burnt into his mind.

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Isabelle moaned in Arthur's arms and deepened the kiss. Neither of them was sure how long they'd been there and Isabelle didn't really know why they were in the hallway when both their rooms were on this corridor. However by that point she didn't really care. She pulled Arthur towards her more and he responded by pressing his chest to hers and gathering her tighter into his arms

They were leaning against the wall for balance, their limbs intertwined. Arthur held the beautiful girl and in front of him and was reminded of the many times they'd done this in the past. Today was different however. They were older now, no longer kids fooling around. Arthur had missed her and put all his longing into the kiss, his body was burning with desire for her. He moved his hand down, running his fingers across her breast, her waist, her thigh. He felt her shudder with pleasure and her moan sent shockwaves through his body.

He started gathering up the fabric of her skirt with one hand. As he reached under her dress and stroked her soft bare thigh he felt her freeze in his arms. She stiffened as she realised how far they'd been about to go. She couldn't even remember how they'd started kissing but she knew she didn't want it to lead to more. She pulled back from Arthur's kiss and looked into his eyes, searching.

"Arthur, what are we doing?" She sighed.

"I'd have thought that was obvious." He replied moving his lips across her chin and down her neck.

She rolled her eyes at the idiocy of the man in front of her.

"That's not what I meant." She said grabbing his chin and forcing him to look at her, "I mean we've been down this road before and it was a disaster. Why are we trying to relive the past?"

"A disaster? We had some good times." He replied with a smile.

Isabelle could tell that he didn't have his full attention on the conversation as the hand on her thigh had started to wonder again. She sighed with pleasure, it felt so damn good, but she needed Arthur to understand what she was trying to say. She grabbed hold of his wrist and pulled his hand away from her leg. She looked back at Arthur to see him pouting sadly at her. She rolled her eyes at him again, not letting go of his wrist.

"Yeah there were some good times. But Arthur you broke my heart and it took me a long time to get over that."

"But we did have fun." He smiled.

He still isn't listening, she thought infuriated. Men, their actions aren't controlled by their heads, but another organ, of which Arthur's was pressed against her leg.

"Yeah but fun was fine when we were kids. But we're not teenagers fooling around anymore. 'Just fun' isn't really what I'm looking for. I want a future and a husband and a family not just a quick snog in the hallway."

"I can give you that." Arthur muttered, his other hand moving to stroke the side of her breast, "I can give you anything you want."

"You're only saying that because you want to get in my pants." She grabbed his other wrist firmly and looked him straight in the eye, "I know you Arthur Pendragon. Anyway what about Gwen?"

"She's not here." He whispered and bent to kiss her again when what she'd said moments before hit him, "Wait did you just say you wanted a husband and a family? What happened to Lady Isabelle who was determined that women are just as good as men and she can make it on her own without any help?" He laughed.

Once again Isabelle rolled her eyes at him and only just managed to restrain herself from kicking him in the balls.

"She grew up. We live in a world where a woman on her own is taken advantage of as she has no rights. Even if she is the first born she can't inherit her family's land if there is a male successor. I'm not saying I'm going to marry the first man who offers and I damn sure am not going to be one of those pathetic women who sits meekly in the corner and obeys their husband's every wish."

Arthur chuckled to himself at the thought of Isabelle doing anything anyone asked her to do.

"I just don't want to go digging things up from the past rather than looking to the future."

She smiled at his blank expression and planted a soft kiss on the bemused man's lips.

"So, this was fun. I'll see you around."

And with that she dropped Arthur's wrists and headed off down the corridor towards her rooms, leaving the bewildered Prince speechless behind her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's another chapter for you. I'd just like to thank everyone who's reviewed, they always make me smile. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I'd really like to know what everyone thought.  
Also I didn't know where Eldor and Camelot were supposed to be so I sort of made it up. Enjoy. xxx**

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Merlin was running an errand for Gaius in the castle when he heard a voice behind him.

"Hey Merlin."

He turned to see the owner of the voice and spotted Isabelle hurrying to catch up with him. A clip of the scene he'd witnessed earlier flashed before his eyes; Arthur pushing Isabelle against the wall as they kissed passionately. He felt the blood rushing to his face as he focused on blocking the memory out. Isabelle reached him and smiled deeply at him. Merlin's legs felt week and he felt butterflies in his stomach. Isabelle frowned at Merlin's expression, linked her arm through his and dragged him down the corridor.

"Come on then." She said as they set off.

Merlin was very aware of her arm through his. He felt warm tingles shooting from where her hand was resting on his arm and spreading throughout his body. This was very distracting as he was focusing on this and nearly missed what she was saying.

"...but I'm always late so they won't really mind. Where are you going?" Isabelle chattered away happily.

She had noticed the thoughtful expression on Merlin's face as she spoke. However, having been in Camelot less than a day, she wasn't sure if this was normal or not. She was certainly intrigued by Merlin. Just his ability to have his own opinions made him stand out from the other servants. And that he was willing to voice them, despite the consequences, amazed her. Most of her father's advisors had been reluctant to share their thoughts when they disagreed with her father, but from everything Arthur had told her Merlin wasn't afraid to disagree with Arthur on a regular basis and actually managed to make him listen, which was a challenge in itself.

Merlin glanced at her and caught her watching him, which made his cheeks turn pink. She smiled and concentrated on the paintings on the wall, trying not to make him uncomfortable.

"I'm delivering some potions for Gaius." Merlin replied gesturing to the basket full of bottles on his other arm, "Where are you going?"

Isabelle frowned at him confused.

"To the Great Hall for dinner. I just said that." She repeated with a frown.

Merlin realised that she had probably been telling him while he was concentrating on her touch and daydreaming about pushing her against the wall and kissing her. He groped around in his mind for the rest of what she'd said, embarrassed that he had just made a complete fool of himself.

"Oh yeah you're running late, I remember now."

They walked along in silence for a while. Isabelle smiled internally; Merlin was cute when he was flustered. She quickly clamped down on that thought. He's a servant, Arthur's servant at that, I shouldn't be thinking about how cute he is. She saw the irony in this as hours earlier she had been telling Arthur how station shouldn't matter. It does though, she thought to herself sadly. Arthur's going to be king of Camelot so he could get away with it. But she knew that she couldn't without being cast out. It wasn't that she cared about being a noble or what others thought. It was her little brother she cared about. Tristan needed her; with their father gone they had to stick together. And if she was disgraced for being with a servant it would make his life a whole lot worse. So she clamped down on her feelings and tuned back in to the question Merlin was asking her.

"You're from Lyonesse right? Where about is that?"

Isabelle had to think about that, geography had never been her strong point.

"Um, it's northwest of here, by the coast." She answered with a smile, remembering the stunning view from her rooms, "It's so beautiful, the deep blue sea lapping calmly against the golden beaches that go on as far as the eye can see."

"I've never seen the sea." Merlin sighed wistfully.

Isabelle looked at him shocked. It had never crossed her mind that some people would never have seen the sea. It was such a huge part of her life that she took for granted and she couldn't imagine living without it. Though when she thought about it, it was hardly surprising, as Camelot was completely inland, that most of the citizens would spend their whole lives without seeing the sea.

"You've never seen the sea? I'll have to take you one day. My God, it is the most beautiful thing you'll ever see." She said and Merlin smiled at the dreamy, far away expression on her face, "Have you lived in Camelot your whole life?"

"No, I'm from Eldor. It's a small village east of Camelot. I've only been here a year or so." Merlin explained, "Is Lyonesse part of Camelot? I've never heard of it."

"No. It's not really part of any kingdom." She struggled to find the words to explain.

"Is it a kingdom of its own?" Merlin asked confused.

"You could say that. It's not very big but we survive. Most of the bigger Kingdoms leave us be. Father was very well respected and having Camelot as an ally always helps." She sighed sadly, "I don't what we're going to do now."

"So you're going to be Queen?" Merlin asked forlornly, feeling his chances slipping further and further away.

He was surprised however when Isabelle burst out laughing at his words.

"I'm sorry." She spluttered, "Well we don't really have a King and Queen, like I said we're not really a kingdom. But even if we did I wouldn't inherit."

Merlin was utterly confused now.

"But you're the oldest aren't you? Surely that makes you the heir?"

"I am the oldest yes, but I'm also female which means I'm not going to inherit. My brother is. Even though he's younger because he's male he inherits." She had an almost wistful expression on her face, "Don't get me wrong I love Tristan, and he will make a way better ruler than I would. It's just ridiculous that women are 'inferior'," She made air quotes with her hands around the word, "to men. I mean without us there wouldn't be any more men."

Merlin could tell this was a subject she was very passionate about and he tried to change the subject before she could get any further into it. From experience Merlin knew nobles would talk for hours about thing they were fervent about and as much as he enjoyed Isabelle's company he was very conscious of the many deliveries he had yet to make.

"What's your brother like?" he asked trying to distract her.

"Tristan?" Isabelle was surprised he cared enough to ask, "He's great. Much better with responsibilities and duty than I am and he's only 14. He's going to be a great ruler one day but he's not ready yet."

Merlin recognised the words she was saying, he thought them often about Arthur. He smiled, maybe they had more in common than he'd thought.

"He sounds like Arthur."

"Yeah I suppose he is, but less of a prat." They both smiled at that, "But Uther's still alive so Arthur's got time to become ready. Father's gone and Uncle can only act as regent. Lyonesse can't last without a ruler, it'll collapse. I just hope Arthur can help him."

Merlin stiffened when she mentioned Arthur. The tone of her voice when she'd said his name had reminded him of what he'd seen earlier. He glanced round frantically, knowing he had to leave before he did anything stupid. He saw that they'd arrived outside the Great Hall. He breathed a sigh of relief and abruptly pulled his arm out of her hold. Ignoring the hurt look on her face he bowed stiffly to her.

"We've arrived My Lady. I'd better be going."

And with that he spun round and hurried off down the corridor. Isabelle stood there, hurt and confused. She didn't understand what had just happened. They had been getting on so well and she'd thought they could be friends. But then he had gone back to 'My Lady' and acting weird, completely confusing her. Men, she sighed entering the Great Hall, I'll never understand them.

x-x-x

"I've decided to throw a ball." Uther announced suddenly during dinner.

Isabelle and Morgana let out squeals of delight however Arthur groaned at his father's words.

"But father, you hate balls!"

"No _you_ hate balls Arthur, there's a difference." Morgana said with a smile earning her a glare from Arthur.

"You hate balls? I'd have thought they were right up your street. Lots of adoring noble's telling you how great you are, sounds like something your ego would love." Isabelle teased and Arthur turned to glare at her instead.

"Not when every mother is trying to get me to marry their daughter while they stand in giggling groups watching me."

The two girls laughed at him.

"Who'd have thought, Camelot's Crown Prince is afraid of giggling girls and their mothers."

"Enough!" Uther intoned before Arthur could reply to Isabelle's comment, "We are having this ball and that is final. There has been too much sadness and suffering lately and we need to show people that there is still some joy in Camelot. And you will be there Arthur, the whole time."

Arthur pulled a face but stayed sat in a moody silence, knowing better than to argue with his father when he was in this mood. He looked at the two girls opposite him for help and saw a scheming smile appear on Isabelle's face. His heart sank as he could tell she had a plan, and her plans never seemed to end well for him.

"You could throw a Masquerade Ball." She suggested to Uther.

This was met by silence and she sighed at the blank looks on the three of their faces.

"You've never been to a Masquerade Ball? We have them all the time at home, how can you never have been to one?" She shrugged and started to explain, "Well it's pretty much like a normal ball except everyone wears a mask..."

"But the how will you know who anyone is?" Arthur asked confused, cutting Isabelle off.

"If you'll let me finish I'll explain." She sighed at his impatience, "The point is you don't know who anyone is, that's the fun of it. It gives it an air of mystery. And then you wouldn't be ambushed by mothers as they wouldn't know who you are."

Uther smiled thoughtfully. This was a good idea. It might actually get Arthur to stay at the ball, rather than disappear half way through. Uther looked at Isabelle happily, glad that she'd come back to Camelot, despite the terrible circumstances that had brought her there. He could see Arthur was ready to pick more holes in the idea. That boy could argue about anything, Uther thought fondly. He spoke before Arthur could.

"That's decided then. We'll throw a Masquerade Ball tomorrow evening. And that's final." He said looking at Arthur warningly.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey thanks to everyone for the great reviews. This chapter is a lot longer than I intended it to be, I got a bit carried away, but I hope you enjoy it. As always please review, I really want to know what you think. Criticism is always welcome. Enjoy.**

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The next morning Merlin was stood, hesitating, outside Isabelle's door. He had his arms full of cloth that the dress maker had asked him to bring up, meaning that he didn't have any hands free to knock. If it had been Arthur's room he would have just barged in but he wasn't sure if that was the best idea right now. Unfortunately he didn't have much of a choice as he was going to drop his load if he stayed here any longer.

Merlin shouldered the door open and glanced round at the room. He frowned as it appeared to be empty. He knew Isabelle was supposed to be here as the dressmaker was going to be up in a couple of minutes. He scanned the room again as he placed to the cloth down on the table. His eyes alighted on the bed where there was a lump in the duvet. Merlin moved over to straighten it out. As he reached the side of the bed he realised that it wasn't just that the duvet was crumpled, there was someone in the bed.

Merlin flushed embarrassed as he saw that Isabelle was still asleep. He hesitated once again, unsure of what to do in a situation like this. On the one hand, he shouldn't be in a Lady's room while she was in bed and only wearing a flimsy nightgown which clung to her in a rather revealing way. His eyes travelled down her body, taking in her beautiful figure. He shook himself slightly and gently pulled the duvet; that had only been covering her lower half, up to her neck to remove the temptation to just stand and stare at her. He watched Isabelle snuggle into them and returned to his options. On the other hand, it was almost midday and the dressmaker would be here any minute now with her dresses for Isabelle to try on. Merlin presumed she must have taken Isabelle's measurements yesterday as she already seemed to have a number of dresses made for her.

He was about to leave and act like he'd never been there when he realised the flaw in his plan. The dressmaker had sent him up with some of her stuff and she would know Merlin had been there and probably tell Arthur, something Merlin definitely didn't want to happen.

He sighed and made his way back to the bed and shook Isabelle's shoulder slightly.

"My Lady?"

There was no response from Isabelle. It's just my luck to find the only other person who sleeps as deeply as Arthur, he thought wryly.

"My Lady!" He repeated louder.

This time Isabelle stirred and rolled onto her side whispering sleepily.

"Five more minutes."

"My Lady you don't have five minutes. The dressmaker is going to be here any minute now. You need to get up."

Isabelle's eyes flickered open briefly but she quickly closed them again and pulled the covers tightly around her.

"I don't care." She mumbled, "Go away Arthur."

"It's not Arthur, it's Merlin. And you need to get up otherwise I'm going to be in a hell of a lot of trouble."

This time Isabelle's eyes stayed open when she spotted Merlin. A wide smile appeared on her sleepy face and Merlin felt his heart skip a beat. She looked like an angel, snuggled up in the white bedding, her long black hair spread out over the pillow and her pale skin almost the colour of the bed sheets. He smiled fondly back at her and resisted the urge to stroke her cheek.

"Merlin!" She said happily, a look of innocent joy on her face, "What are you doing here?"

"I was delivering some cloth for the dressmaker when I saw you were still in bed. I wasn't sure what to do but I thought I'd better wake you as it's nearly midday as the dressmaker will be here soon."

Isabelle was still smiling at Merlin's cute babbling when what he'd said hit her. She sat bolt upright, fully awake now.

"Nearly midday? Oh God, I never sleep this late. Trust my luck for it to be today."

She swung her legs out of bed and made her way over to the table where her breakfast was waiting. Merlin's eyes followed her as she made her way across the room. She walked with such effortless elegance that Merlin could never achieve. Even though she was short, she barely came up to Merlin's chin, she carried herself in such a way that made her seem much taller.

She turned round and saw him staring at her. This time it was her turn to blush as she saw the intense look in his eyes as they moved up and down her body. She had never been worried about the way she looked, she knew she was attractive. But standing here in her nightgown in front of this boy with piercing blue eyes that seemed to see right into her, she felt suddenly self-conscious.

"What?" She asked embarrassed.

"Nothing." Merlin said quickly, turning round and busying himself with making her bed.

"Seriously what is it?" She asked adjusting her nightgown and running her hand through her bed head.

Merlin turned back to look at her. He'd seen plenty of beautiful women in his time at Camelot. But they had all looked perfect and pristine in their finest get up. However the woman in front of him, with her tousled hair and tired features, looked more beautiful to him than any of the rest.

"You look beautiful." He said unashamedly as he was only stating the truth.

Isabelle stopped trying to fix her appearance and looked up at Merlin startled. That was the last thing she'd been expecting him to say. She'd had men call her beautiful before but it seemed different coming from Merlin. The intensity in his voice sent a shiver through her that had nothing to do with the temperature.

She took a step towards him, almost in a trance, when the noon bell rung through the castle, shattering their reverie. Isabelle remembered how late she was and started flitting round the room again. Merlin watched her openly for a few moments then started to leave the room. He was almost at the door when Isabelle called him back.

"Merlin." She said shyly.

He turned back to face her.

"Isabelle?"

She felt elated that he had stopped calling her 'My Lady' and his voice sent shivers of delight down her spine.

"Thank you." She whispered sincerely.

Merlin just smiled at her and left the room. Isabelle sank down on the bed with a sigh, still staring at the spot where Merlin had just been.

x-x-x

Hours later it was Arthur's turn to enter Isabelle's room. The scene that met his eyes however, could not have been further from what Merlin had witnessed. Her room was now filled with people buzzing around frantically. Arthur slipped in and leant back against the door, careful not to get in anyone's way. He spotted Isabelle in the centre of the room surrounded by women adjusting the dress she was wearing. Arthur smiled as he watched her fidget uncomfortably. He knew she hated standing still and waiting for others, and she had to do both at that moment.

"Please My Lady, hold still." A young maid pleaded with her as she tried to adjust the skirt.

"But this is so boring." She complained, "Do I have to try every single one on?"

"Yes My Lady. The fit of each is different so we need to check them all."

"But it takes so long." She huffed and glanced longingly out the window.

"Well it wouldn't take as long if you stopped fidgeting." Barked a severe looking middle age woman Arthur instantly recognised as the castle dressmaker.

He shuddered as he remembered having to spend hours trying on outfit after outfit for that woman only for her to tell him that they were useless and he had to come back the next day and do it all again. Still he couldn't help but chuckle at Isabelle stuck in that situation, looking thoroughly disgruntled. Unfortunately for him Isabelle heard his chuckle and looked up for the source of the noise.

She spotted Arthur smirking at her and threw him a dirty look. She wanted to march across the room and slap him for looking so smug at her obvious discomfort, however the many assistants around her prevented her from moving. Just as she was about to throw the nearest object at him a plan formed in her mind. Arthur could be just the thing she needed to get out of here. His smug look was replaced by a wary one as he saw her glare fade and spotted the twinkle of a plan in her eye.

"Arthur! What are you doing here?" She asked innocently, "Please tell me you've come to get me out this nightmare."

Arthur smiled wickedly at the pleading tone in her voice, realising that for once the power was with him.

"Not really no. Although I'd love to stay here and watch you suffer all day, I'm actually looking for my useless excuse for a servant."

He felt a slight twinge of guilt as he saw her face fall. But the guilt was soon replaced by curiosity as he saw a faint pink flush colour her pale cheeks at the mention of his servant.

"Merlin? No I haven't seen him. Why would he be in here?" She replied coolly, though her flustered expression aroused Arthur's suspicion, "But please get me out of here. I'll go insane if I have to try on another dress."

"_Go _insane?" Arthur chuckled earning him another glare, "Anyway, we've all had to do it. Madame Beauvais is the best in the kingdom, you should be pleased with her fine services."

Arthur thought he heard her muttering about what he could do with his fine services. However before she could reply in earshot the door of the room burst open, thankfully it wasn't the one Arthur was leaning against.

"Isabelle! Have you seen Arthur? I'm running late and he's..."

Merlin broke off his flustered gabbling when he spotted Arthur. Embarrassed he felt his cheeks grow hot as he waited for Arthur's reply.

"And he's going to kill you?" Arthur asked innocently.

"Well I was going to say and he's disappeared but your version would probably work too." Merlin replied trying, and failing, to look humble.

"Have you finally brought my clothes for the ball tonight?" Arthur asked calmly.

Merlin nodded, gesturing to the basket in his arms full of clothes. Arthur sighed at his incompetence.

"Why have you brought them here? Surely they'd be more useful in my chambers."

He pushed Merlin out the door in front of him, ignoring his protests about how Arthur wasn't in his room and he had been looking for him to deliver them. Isabelle sighed at the boys constant bickering and tried one last time to get Arthur to rescue her.

"Please Arthur, get me out of here!" She begged.

Arthur just smiled annoyingly as he turned back to her.

"But where would be the fun in that?" He said cheekily as he left the room.

Isabelle growled infuriated, longing to throw something after him but having nothing to hand. So much for the handsome knight coming to rescue the damsel in distress, she thought bitterly.

x-x-x

Merlin followed Arthur into his chambers expecting a scolding for his lateness. Instead Arthur ignored him and wandered over to the window. He leant his forehead against the cool pane, watching something intently. Merlin frowned at him. It wasn't like Arthur to act like this. He placed the basket of clothes on the table and moved over to Arthur. He glanced out of the window to see Gwen and Morgana wandering across the castle grounds. He looked back at his master and saw the pained look on his face.

Merlin knew Arthur well enough to know he didn't want to talk about it. He clasped him on the shoulder briefly and moved over to sort out Arthur's bed sheets. Arthur watched the younger man with a frown. Merlin was being uncharacteristically quiet and it felt unsettling. He sighed, he was probably walking right into one of Merlin's traps but the silence was killing him.

"Haven't you got some sarcastic comment you want to make? Or an unwelcome piece of advice to share?"

Merlin looked up at Arthur surprised.

"You didn't look in the mood for talking and I didn't really feel like having my head bitten off by a grumpy prince."

Arthur smiled, that was more like Merlin.

"That never seemed to stop you before." He replied and Merlin smiled sheepishly, "Anyway I'm not grumpy."

Merlin just raised his eyebrows at the prince.

"I'm not!" Arthur argued.

"Whatever you say Sire." Merlin said cheekily.

Arthur sighed in frustration and glanced back out of the window. The two girls had disappeared out of sight of his room. He sighed again feeling his heart ache disappointingly. He knew nothing could happen between him and Gwen but that wouldn't stop him dreaming.

"Still pining then?" Merlin asked casually.

Arthur picked up one of the cushions off his window seat and threw it at Merlin who dodged out the way.

"Your aim is getting worse. I think you might be losing your touch." Merlin stated matter-of-factly, a huge smile plastered across his face.

"I am not..." Arthur grunted throwing two more pillows, which both hit Merlin, "...losing my touch."

He launched another pillow as he spoke his last words, which hit Merlin in the face. Arthur burst out laughing at Merlin's stunned expression. Merlin took the opportunity to throw the four cushions back at Arthur, all of which missed him.

They threw them back and forth at each other for a while, knocking most things in the room over. Eventually both boys collapsed on the floor laughing. Merlin was sure he had been hit more times than he had managed to get Arthur but he was happy he had managed to cheer the other boy up.

"You are a terrible shot." Arthur spluttered through his laughter.

"That's probably why I'm the servant and you're the knight." Merlin replied, shrugging unashamedly.

"That and the fact you're not a noble."

"That too yeah."

Arthur sighed sadly, suddenly sobering up.

"I sometimes wish I wasn't a noble." He said wistfully.

"Why?" Merlin asked surprised, "You want to give up all this for a pallet in Gaius's rooms."

Merlin swept his arms round at the luxurious room, which was now a tip.

"I just think my life would be so much easier if I hadn't been born Prince Arthur."

"Love isn't any easier as a peasant, trust me." Merlin sighed thinking of Isabelle.

Arthur looked at him shocked. Merlin always seemed to know what he was thinking. He had been picturing Gwen and imagining how their lives could have been had either of them been born in a different situation. Merlin looked at Arthur who seemed to have reverted back to his moody slump. He sighed; Arthur seemed to have more mood swings than a teenage girl.

"Anyway if you were a peasant you wouldn't be able to do your favourite hobby." Arthur looked at him quizzically, "Boss people around."

Arthur pushed Merlin good naturedly then turned to survey his room.

"Speaking of bossing people around, my room is a mess Merlin. You really should take more care over the details."

Merlin smiled, it wasn't the details that were the problem. He got up and started to pick things up off the floor. He heard Arthur sigh behind him and groped around for another topic to distract him with.

"So, Lady Isabelle seemed nice."

"No," Merlin turned to see Arthur, who had gotten up to help, pointing at him sternly, "You are not using my chambers to spy on her. In fact you are not to spy on her at all."

"Trust me Arthur; I learnt my lesson last time."

They both laughed at the memory of Uther and Lady Catrina.

"Good, because if you were I would have to kill you." Arthur turned back to tidy his room.

"You seem very protective." Merlin said innocently.

Arthur turned slowly back to face Merlin and saw him smiling innocently at him.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Merlin just looked at Arthur suggestively, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

"It's not like that." Arthur said with a sigh moving to pick up the books that had fallen off the table.

"Really? Because with what I saw yesterday, I'd beg to differ." Merlin replied concentrating on laying things back on the table.

He glanced up to see Arthur looking at him strangely.

"You saw that?" Arthur asked apprehensively, Merlin just nodded, not trusting his voice, "Then you saw her make a fool of me."

"What?" Merlin was confused now.

"You did see us kissing?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah but it's not like I stayed to watch." He replied, "What do you mean she made a fool of you?"

"Well we were kissing and stuff and it felt really good and I was just about to..."

"I really don't need the details." Merlin interrupted.

"Right. Well anyway. She pushed me away and started spouting nonsense about how we shouldn't dig up the past and she's grown up and I should too."

"She said that?" Merlin asked astounded.

"Well not exactly, but she definitely implied it." Arthur sighed, "But anyway she decided we should look to the future and be more responsible and then she just walked off."

Arthur turned away infuriated. He would never understand girls.

"It doesn't matter anymore. I am so over it."

"Of course you are Arthur." Merlin said patronisingly.

Arthur glared at him and picked up a book as if to throw it at Merlin.

"I'll shut up now." Merlin said, not really wanting to test Arthur's aim again.

"Good. By the way, what happened to my outfit for tonight?" Arthur asked.

Merlin started unloading clothing from the basket on the table.

"It's here _Sire._ But I don't know why you need two outfits."

Arthur moved over to the table and started sorting the clothing expertly into two piles. Merlin looked at him, incredulous that he had managed to sort them into two different outfits. He had even managed to distinguish between the red and the blue rather than mixing and matching the colours as usual. Arthur glanced up and saw his look.

"I'm the future king of Camelot; I do have some skills you know."

"I know, but I didn't think they included things like co-ordinating outfits. Isn't that why you hired me?" Merlin said, swapping round one of the pieces, much to Arthur's disgust.

Arthur picked up the red outfit and took it behind the screen without a word.

"You still haven't told me why you need two."

"I don't. That one's for you." Arthur replied sticking his head out from behind the folding screen, "If I have to suffer through this ball, so do you."

x-x-x

Isabelle burst into Morgana's chambers to find her and Gwen deciding what Morgana was going to wear to the ball. They both glanced round as the excitable girl entered the room.

"You managed to escape then?" Morgana asked, cool as usual.

"Finally. Though it did have its benefits." She said pulling a dress out from behind her back.

It was beautiful. The bronze material seemed to glitter in the candlelight. Both girls breathed a sigh of wonder. Gwen moved over to run the silky material through her fingers.

"Do you like it?" Isabelle asked Gwen, biting her lower lip nervously.

"It's beautiful." Gwen whispered in awe.

"Good." Isabelle said grinning widely, "Because you'll look perfect in it tonight."

Gwen gaped at Isabelle open mouthed, trying to comprehend what the other girl had just said.

"What?" She managed to splutter, utterly stunned.

"This is for you to wear tonight. The dressmaker was very confused when I asked her to make me another dress in a different size but I pulled the nobility card and acted like a spoilt brat and she stopped asking questions."

Isabelle finished babbling and looked at Gwen expectantly, waiting for her to regain her speech. Gwen was stood there stunned. She didn't know what to say. She had never been to a ball before, except as a servant, and part of her really wanted to go. But the more sensible side of her realised that it was impossible.

"I can't go." She said tearing her eyes away from the beautiful dress to look at Isabelle.

Isabelle's face fell at Gwen's words and she looked at her hurt, a small frown crinkling her features.

"Why not? Do you not want to? Is it the dress? You don't like it?"

She sighed sadly inspecting the dress to see if anything was wrong with it.

"No the dress is wonderful, and I do want to go. But in case you hadn't noticed, I'm a servant, I can't."

Gwen's confusion grew as Isabelle's face lit up at her words.

"Well if that's the only problem then it's fine." Isabelle pulled a matching bronze mask out from behind her back with her other hand, "No one will know who you are."

Indecision was etched on Gwen's face and Isabelle watched her while she came to a decision. Gwen glanced at Morgana who had a wide smile on her face, which was rare for her.

"What do you think?" Gwen asked her.

"I think it's a great idea." Morgana replied warmly.

"Well she should as it was partly her idea." Isabelle said and Gwen looked back at her shocked, "Well how else did you think I got your measurements."

Gwen turned to Morgana, her resolve wavering.

"You really think this is a good idea?"

"Yeah. You'll be wearing the mask so no one but us will know who you are. You do so much for me and everyone else in the castle that you deserve a night off."

Gwen looked between the two noble's and saw their expectant faces shinning with excitement. She sighed; she was fighting a losing battle. A battle she didn't really want to win anyway.

"Well when you put it like that, how can I refuse?"

Isabelle squealed with delight and threw her arms around Gwen's shoulders, careful not to crumple the dress. She released the stunned girl and laid the dress carefully down on the bed.

"We are going to have so much fun!" She squealed excitedly.

Gwen and Morgana glanced at each other and Morgana rolled her eyes at Gwen. However this did not escape Isabelle's notice.

"Hey! Don't roll your eyes at me! You were just as excited as I was when we came up with this."

"You've been planning this?" Gwen asked.

"Yep." Isabelle said cheekily, "You can thank us later."

Morgana rolled her eyes again at the younger girl who stuck her tongue out defiantly at her. Gwen smiled at the two friends teasing, feeling the happiest she had in weeks. Isabelle finished pulling faces at Morgana and turned back to Gwen.

"Anyway, now you'll have a chance to be with Arthur on an even level." She said raising her eyebrows suggestively at Gwen.

Gwen felt the colour rushing to her cheeks at Isabelle's words.

"What are you talking about?" She stammered.

"Don't try and deny it. Anyone who spends five minutes with the two of you can see the way you feel about each other."

"That's what Merlin said." Gwen whispered quietly.

"Then it must be true." Isabelle said simply.

Morgana watched their conversation with interest. She'd known about Gwen and Arthur's feelings for each other for a while now but she hadn't known what to do about it. Isabelle had been here less than a day and she was already playing matchmaker. Not to be outdone, Morgana entered the conversation.

"Well what about you and Merlin." She said to Isabelle.

As Morgana watched her she saw her porcelain skin redden at her words. She saw the flustered look on her face. She'd known Isabelle for a long time and Morgana could tell when she was hiding something.

"What do you mean 'me and Merlin'?" She asked, trying to be casual.

"I saw the way you looked at each other."

"And I saw the two of you in the hall yesterday." Gwen chipped in.

They looked at Isabelle expectantly, who sighed and flopped onto Morgana's bed.

"Fine, I may have a bit of a crush on him, but I barely know the guy, it's nothing serious."

Morgana gave her a look and Isabelle slumped back so she was lying on the bed.

"But he's different you know? Mysterious and complex."

Gwen laughed.

"I've never heard Merlin called mysterious or complex before, but he is different." She said.

"You should tell him." Morgana said suddenly.

Isabelle sat up and looked over at Morgana shocked.

"What?"

"I'm serious, you should tell him."

Isabelle sighed.

"Do you really think so?" She asked, "Because I was dropping all these hints yesterday but he didn't seem interested. And we seemed to be having a good time then he went all weird and started calling me 'My Lady' again." She groaned infuriated.

"Men are stupid..." Morgana started.

"Tell me something I don't know." Isabelle interrupted making Gwen snigger.

"...you have to spell it out for them or they won't notice." Morgana continued as if she hadn't interrupted.

"Well you would know." Isabelle muttered with a smile.

She squealed as Morgana threw a pillow at her.

"Fine. I'll tell him." She sighed and turned to Gwen, "But only if you tell Arthur."

Gwen looked at her and sighed, realising that she had no chance of winning this argument.

"Deal." She said reluctantly.

It wasn't the telling him that was the hard part, Gwen thought, it was his reaction she was worried about. Isabelle's mood seemed to have improved and she sprang off the bed.

"Well I'd love to stay and chat but I have a ball to prepare for."

She hugged Morgana and Gwen and hurried out the room with a spring in her step. The two girls watched her go with a smile.

"That girl has way too much energy." Morgana said and Gwen nodded in agreement.


	6. Chapter 6

**I realise there hasn't been much action so far but that is going to change in the next couple of chapters. Also how it relates to the Legend of King Arthur will become clear in later chapters. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, please keep it up. Also if you haven't reviewed please do, I'd really like to know what everyone thinks. Enjoy. x**

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"I can't believe you talked me into this." Merlin muttered under his breath to Arthur.

They were stood in the great hall watching it slowly fill up with guests. The room was almost packed but Merlin still hadn't seen the face he'd been searching for all night. Although even if she was here he may have missed her; the array of coloured dresses and masks filled the room with an air of mystery making it impossible to tell who anyone was.

Merlin glanced at the person next to him and felt a pang of jealousy. Arthur looked elegant in his red jacket, his mask covered the top half of his face then trailed down on one side to his chin bone, accentuating his strong cheekbones. Merlin sighed, knowing he could never achieve the same grace. He fiddled with his mask, feeling very out of place in the room full of nobles.

Arthur looked down at the fidgeting boy beside him with a sigh. Merlin had complained the whole time Arthur was making him look presentable. Which took a lot of work, Arthur thought, though I did do a good job even if I do say so myself. He knocked the other boy's hands away and adjusted his mask for him.

"You look fine, relax." He said and Merlin shot him an apprehensive look.

"Easy for you to say, you belong here. You aren't going to get put in the stocks if anyone finds out who you are."

Arthur rolled his eyes at him and leant back against the wall.

"You think too much Merlin. No one knows who you are, that's the point of this whole thing." Arthur sighed at his unconvinced look, "You need to learn to live in the moment and not worry about the consequences."

"I know you certainly don't because I'm normally the one to suffer the consequences of your actions." Merlin muttered grumpily.

Arthur shot him a cheeky smile then returned to surveying the room.

"Go have a drink Merlin." Arthur said and Merlin headed off reluctantly into the throng, "And have some fun!" He called to his servant's retreating back.

Arthur watched him grab a drink and strike up a conversation with a couple of nearby guests. Satisfied that Merlin wasn't going to make a complete fool of himself Arthur turned back to see the door open and three masked ladies walk in.

Arthur's breath caught in his throat as he took in their beauty. The girl on the left was tall and pale in a low-cut deep purple dress. The girl in the middle was shorter than the other two and her long dark hair fell down to her waist, drawing the eye to her silver dress which hugged her figure sensuously. However Arthur's eyes were drawn to the darker girl on the right. She stood out next to the pale couple but her beauty was no less than theirs. Her hair was coiled elegantly upon her head and Arthur felt desire course through him as his eyes raked her body in the bronze dress. She looked uncomfortable standing next to the confident nobles but that just added to her mystery.

Arthur realised he was staring and glanced away quickly to see that he wasn't the only one taking in their beauty. Most of the room were staring in awe at the threesome, the men with looks full of longing and the women's full of jealousy.

His eyes flicked back to the figure in bronze to see her move off with the taller girl, Arthur presumed it was Morgana, and she was soon engaged in conversation with some gawping nobles. Arthur watched the hesitant girl fondly then turned to look at the third girl who was making her way over to him, leaving a trail of stunned men in her wake

He smiled as she approached and focused on her for the first time. She was so different to the awkward teenager he used to know. She had grown into a woman, a beautiful woman, and although Arthur's heart lay elsewhere he had trouble controlling his wondering eyes.

She reached him and bobbed a small curtsy in front of him. Arthur inclined his head in acknowledgment and took her proffered hand to kiss.

"My Lady." He said his eyes twinkled cheekily.

"My Lord." She replied and they both burst out laughing.

Isabelle smiled at the handsome prince and wondered, not for the first time, why she had turned him down. Because he's a prat, a small voice in her head said making her smile widen.

"What?" He asked looking into her deep blue eyes.

"Nothing." She said smiling fondly at him, "So have I converted you? Do you now see what a great idea this is?"

"I suppose." Arthur said reluctantly, never one to admit he was wrong.

He glanced around the room again but he had lost track of Gwen. His eyes scanned the crowd as he looked for a flash of bronze but found nothing. He looked back at Isabelle to see her looking at him strangely from behind her turquoise mask which was rimmed with silver thread. He gave her a quizzical look and a cheeky smiled appeared on her face.

"So, are you going to ask me to dance or what?" She asked boldly, raising her eyebrows behind her mask.

Arthur, taken back by her abruptness, made one last sweep of the room then looked back at her.

"There'll be time for your one true love later." She said cheekily to a startled Arthur, "Come on, I want to dance."

And with that she took his hand and dragged him through the crowd, towards the dance floor.

x-x-x

Merlin had wondered around the room aimlessly, talking to random strangers, and had now ended up at the other end of the hall. He was leaning against the wall next to a side door he knew led to a route outside, handy if he wanted to make a quick getaway, near the dance floor, watching couples move slowly round it.

He spotted a new couple joining the floor. He instantly recognised Arthur and the girl, who seemed to be practically dragging him onto the dance floor, was the girl he had spent all evening looking for. As he watched, Arthur and Isabelle took hold and set off waltzing round the floor. Well, Merlin thought, they may not be waltzing but it's not like I'd be able to tell either way.

Ignoring Arthur he took in Isabelle's appearance in her silver dress. He felt his heart quicken as he imagined it was him she was dancing with, not Arthur. He longed to ask her to dance and hold her close as they moved across the floor. But he knew that with his lack of coordination he would probably end up injuring someone and making a fool of himself. Absorbed as he was, he didn't notice that someone had moved to stand next to him.

"Good aren't they?" Said a wistful voice that seemed to mirror Merlin's feelings.

He turned to see Gwen standing next to him.

"Wow. You look great." He said in awe making Gwen smile.

"Thanks. You don't scrub up to bad yourself." She replied.

And she meant it. His blue jacket fit him surprisingly well making his usual lanky frame look somehow stronger and he now looked lean rather than gangly. She noticed with a smile that his simple blue mask, which matched his eyes, drew attention away from his ears making them look less prominent.

As she took this in she noted that he wasn't paying attention to her anymore but had turned back to the elegant dancing couple who seemed to be able to dance and talk simultaneously.

x-x-x

"This is the dullest dance I've ever done! Don't you people know how to have fun?" Isabelle asked with a frown.

"Hey don't take it out on me. You're the one who wanted to dance."

He sighed as she pouted at him and saw from the twinkle in her eye that she had already made up her mind about how she was going to solve it.

"What do you have in mind?" He asked resigned.

x-x-x

Both Gwen and Merlin watched the couple in silence for a few moments then Gwen sighed with jealousy.

"I'd give anything to be able to move like that." She said sadly.

"I'd give anything to move without knocking something over or dropping everything." Merlin joked, trying to cheer her up even though he didn't feel very cheerful himself.

It worked for a moment as Gwen laughed at his comment but she soon went back to watching Arthur moodily.

"It looks too easy for them." She said almost to herself, "It's as if they should be dancing more intricate steps."

As if on cue the couple tightened their hold, picked up the pace and changed the steps they had been following. Merlin felt something twinge inside him as he saw them press tighter against each other.

Both Gwen and Merlin watched in awe as the elegant couple span round and round, never missing a beat. By this point the floor had cleared and the conversation had dies away as everyone watched the young pair.

x-x-x

Isabelle spotted a flash of bronze out the corner of her eye as she and Arthur pirouetted on the spot. She smiled as she could see the last parts of her plan falling into place. She focused on the spot where Gwen was as they moved off again, with thankfully less spinning this time as Isabelle was feeling very dizzy, and spotted the blue clad figure next to Gwen. She nearly cried out in surprise as she recognised the unmistakable ears of Merlin.

Her smile widened. Arthur must have forced him to come as she had Gwen. This would give her a chance to see him without having to be careful of what others thought.

Her focus was brought back to Arthur as he led her unexpectedly in a different direction. She looked up into his handsome smiling face and found herself smiling warmly back at him. Her thoughts were cut off as the steps became more complex and she had to concentrate on the dance.

x-x-x

The silent audience broke into applause as the song came to an end and Isabelle and Arthur finished the dance. Merlin watched Isabelle sink into a deep curtsy as Arthur bowed to her. He turned to face Gwen, not wanting to subject his heart to any more pain, and saw her face shinning with devotion.

Merlin realised that the two of them were in pretty much the same boat. Servants whose heart's desires were unattainable. He glanced back at the dance floor to see Arthur shoot Gwen a look full of longing. At least she knows he feels the same, Merlin thought sadly.

He suddenly regretted looking back at the dance floor as he saw Isabelle straighten up from her curtsy and throw her arms round Arthur happily. Merlin had thought that evening couldn't get any worse, but he was wrong. Her simple action had left him reeling. He felt as if his heart had gone to be replaced by a gaping hole full of pain. His eyes prickled with tears and he turned away, knowing he had to get out of there. He made to leave but felt Gwen's comforting hand on his arm.

"Merlin? Are you okay?" She asked concerned.

"Fine. I just need to get some air."

He heard his voice crack, destroying any pretence that he was okay. However he didn't wait to see Gwen's reaction. He hurried away from her and pulled open the door he had been leaning next to. He swiftly disappeared through it, heading out of the castle.

x-x-x

Isabelle pulled back from the shocked Arthur and grinned at the confused look on his face.

"What was that for?" He asked perplexed.

Isabelle just shrugged and grabbed his hand. She pulled him off the dance floor saying:

"Come on. There's someone I want you to meet."

They moved over to where Gwen was now standing alone. Isabelle felt her chest tighten as she looked at the spot where Merlin had been stood moments before. She shook herself and reminded herself that she wasn't supposed to be thinking about him anyway. She had a plan to implement. She dropped Arthur's hand as they neared the nervous Gwen. Isabelle smiled encouragingly at the other girl who was almost shaking with nerves.

"Guinevere." Arthur said before Isabelle had a chance to speak.

Isabelle elbowed him in the ribs angrily.

"Arthur!" She exclaimed with a frown, "You're ruining it. You're not supposed to know who anyone is."

Arthur grinned at her sheepishly, turned back to Gwen and bowed to her.

"My Lady." He said then looked at Isabelle expectantly.

"Much better." She smiled.

Gwen seemed to have relaxed at their banter and the two of them started talking happily. Isabelle wasn't listening however. She was scanning the room for that familiar face. But it was nowhere to be seen.

She turned back to the others with a sigh. Gwen caught her eye and indicated to the half open door next to them. Gwen smiled and gave her a quick hug whispering in her ear.

"Go get him."

Isabelle smiled at her and waved airily at the once again confused prince. She made her way through the door with a smile.

x-x-x

Descending the front steps of the castle Isabelle was glad it was a warm night as her dress wasn't going to keep the cold out. She had almost reached the bottom when she stumbled as her foot caught on something. She looked down and saw a discarded mask lying at her feet. She picked it up and turned it over to see that it was a simple blue mask.

She inspected it with a smile. As she stepped off the bottom step her eyes picked up something they hadn't been able see from further back in the dark. There was a figure stood with its back to her at the far end of the courtyard. She made her way over to it slowly, half expecting her mind to be playing tricks on her. She stopped a couple of paces from it and hesitated. Finally she found her voice and managed to speak.

"I think you dropped something. They won't let you back in without it."

Merlin almost jumped out of his skin at the voice. He had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he hadn't heard anyone approaching. He reached up and roughly wiped his face dry.

"I'm not going back in." He said shortly without turning round.

Isabelle frowned and moved closer to Merlin, placing a hand on his shoulder. He turned round to face her slowly, taking in her ethereal beauty. The torch light flickering around them caught her dress and skin in such a way that made her look like she was glowing with a glistening light. He felt a pang of guilt as he saw her face behind her mask was full of concern.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly, noticing his red rimmed eyes and tear stained face.

Merlin just nodded not trusting his voice. Once he finally managed to get his feelings under control he spoke.

"I saw you dancing, you were amazing."

Isabelle glowed at his comment. Merlin smiled as he watched her try, and fail, to play it cool.

"Oh you saw that? It's nothing really, it's not that hard."

"Not that hard? I can't dance to save my life let alone those complex steps you were doing." Merlin said incredulously.

"Don't be silly, everyone can dance. It's just a matter of practice."

Merlin just looked at her sceptically.

"I'll show you, come on."

Isabelle dropped Merlin's mask she was still holding and stepped closer to him.

"Here?" He asked breathlessly.

"Here." She confirmed, "You can hear the music just as well out here as you can in there and there's much more space here."

Merlin had to admit she had a point. As the musicians started playing another song the music filtered out from the castle filling the courtyard. And there was about ten times more space out here, and no one to see him make a complete fool of himself. These thoughts however, were pushed out of his head as she took his left hand in her right and placed his other round her waist. Her left hand came to rest on his shoulder and he felt warmth spread from her touch.

"It's easy." She said, "Just follow my feet."

She took a step back with her right foot and Merlin responded by taking one forward with his left. Then she took a step to her right and closed her left foot which he also followed.

"See, you can do it." Isabelle said with a smile.

They set off slowly round the courtyard. Isabelle watched the look of concentration on his face fondly. They had almost made it round the courtyard when Isabelle took her hand off his shoulder. She grabbed Merlin's chin and pulled his head up so that instead of looking at his feet he was looking into her face.

"I know I'm short but you never look at your feet." She instructed.

Merlin managed a couple of steps like this, his face still wrinkled in concentration. However they were only a couple paces from where they started when Isabelle spoke again.

"I know your secret." She whispered with a twinkle in her eye, "I know about the magic."

Merlin looked at Isabelle shocked. Distracted he stood on her foot making her stumble. She grabbed a tighter hold of him to keep herself upright and they both burst out laughing.

"Okay maybe dancing's not your strong point." She conceded.

She looked up at Merlin, suddenly aware of how close together they were. He had stopped laughing and was gazing at her intensely. Isabelle looked into his deep blue eyes that seemed to see into her soul. She felt her breath catch in her throat as his eye line flicked from her eyes to her lips and back.

"Don't worry, I won't tell."

She saw him hesitate and decided it was time to take control. She put both her arms round his neck, raised herself onto her tiptoes, and pressed her lips against his.

All thoughts of magic were driven from his head as their lips touched. For a moment he was so stunned he just stood there. But soon he was wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her back. He had experienced magic before but this was something stronger. He had lost all sense of the world. There was just him and Isabelle in that moment, nothing else mattered.

x-x-x

A figure stood in the doorway of the castle watching the couple below. Their grip on each other had tightened, their kiss becoming more intense. Arthur watched them for another moment then moved back into the castle with a smile.

* * *

**Happiness for all. But this is Camelot, that can't last long. Please review. x**


	7. Chapter 7

**First of all huge thanks to everyone who has review'd, I love you all. Secondly I want to thank Roses-as-lips for the beta of all the chapters so far, which I so meant to mention earlier. I hope you enjoy this and please please review I'd really like to know what you all think. Enjoy. x**

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Chapter 7

Merlin shouldered his way unannounced into Arthur's chambers, late again. However he was surprised not to be greeted by Arthur's angry form, scolding him for being late yet again. Merlin glanced around the eerily quiet room as he lay Arthur's breakfast down on the table. His eyes landed on the bed and saw that Arthur was still in it, fast asleep.

A mischievous smile lit Merlin's face. It was not often he was in this situation. In fact, as far as he could recall, he had only been awake before Arthur once in the whole time he had served him. On reflection however, Merlin realised that it was hardly surprising that Arthur was still asleep, taking into account the amount of alcohol he had consumed the night before. Merlin had ended up half-carrying the drunken prince down the corridor and had only just managed to get him into the bed before he passed out.

This was not the end of the night Merlin would have liked, but the rest of the evening had more than made up for it. He and Isabelle had talked and laughed and danced (albeit not very well on his part) after their kiss it the courtyard. He had managed to snatch a quick good night kiss from her before he had to drag Arthur away to stop him from drunkenly professing his love for Gwen to the whole court.

The thought of Arthur brought him back to the present and he heard him snore loudly and turn over in his bed. Merlin strode over to the curtains and threw them open, allowing the sunlight to flood the room. He heard Arthur groan behind him as the light hit him. Merlin smiled, enjoying his last moment of peace. He knew that the amount of alcohol Arthur had consumed the night before was going to make him even more grumpy and insufferable than normal.

"Merlin!" Arthur bellowed weakly.

"Good morning Sire." Said Merlin chirpily, "It is a lovely day and may I point out that today I am actually up before you and here on time." He lied, "I'm sure you should probably make a note of it as..."

"Merlin?" Arthur groaned cutting off his rambling.

"Yes Arthur?"

"Shut up!"

Merlin sighed as Arthur rolled over, turning his back to Merlin, and attempted to go back to sleep. Arthur was definitely not a morning person. Merlin had trouble waking him at the best of times, though to be fair that wasn't very often as he was normally running late, but Arthur was ten times worse when he was hung over.

"I've brought you your breakfast, and it's still warm." _For once_, Merlin thought wryly.

"Don't care." Came the muffled reply.

"And you are supposed to be meeting your father in half an hour to review the taxes for this month. Then you have training with the knights in the afternoon."

"Don't care." Arthur repeated burrowing further into his bedding.

"Well Morgana will be at the meeting this morning, and I'm sure she'll bring Gwen."

Arthur stopped trying to block Merlin out with his pillow at the mention of the maid. However he didn't seem likely to come out of his cocoon of bedding. Merlin sighed. Well he had tried being nice; Arthur had brought this upon himself. A cheeky smile crossed Merlin's face as he made his way over to Arthur's bedside.

"You have to get up!" Merlin said loudly in Arthur's ear.

His loud voice cut through Arthur's throbbing head painfully. He pulled his pillow over his head trying to block out the noise.

"My head!" He moaned sleepily, hoping this would make Merlin quieter. Unfortunately for him, it didn't.

"Oh I'm sorry Arthur, am I talking too loud?" Merlin shouted, "Well I'm sure if you were up I'd be able to talk quieter!"

He heard Arthur grumbling but couldn't make out the words through the pillows that were piled on top of his head. However as Arthur made no move to leave his bed Merlin continued talking.

"Well if you're not going to get up then I think I'll have to find a bucket of water as I still haven't paid you back for throwing water on me last week."

This seemed to bring Arthur to his senses as he sat up sleepily and glowered at Merlin with bleary eyes.

"Don't. You. Dare." He said slowly.

The words didn't have quite the effect Arthur was going for as in his sleep fuddled state the words, which were supposed to sound commanding, slurred into each other, ruining the effect.

"I don't have to now you're up." Merlin replied cheekily, reverting back to normal volume.

Arthur watched sleepily as Merlin walked round his room collecting his dirty washing. He groaned once again as every footstep of Merlin's cut through his head like a knife.

"Merlin? Do you have to walk so loud?" He mumbled, "My head is killing me."

"Well I'm not surprised considering the amount you had to drink last night." Merlin scolded fondly.

Arthur glowered at Merlin who just smiled cheekily and continued buzzing round the room. Arthur watched him disgruntled. Merlin was way too cheery this morning. He was sure Merlin had had as much to drink as he had, well maybe not as much but certainly a lot. So why was he so upbeat when Arthur felt like crawling into a hole to die? The only explanation Arthur could come up with was that Gaius had given him a remedy for hangovers. But if that was the case, why hadn't he brought Arthur any? What Arthur didn't know however, was that Merlin's hangover cure was simple; magic. But somehow Merlin hadn't thought Arthur would react too well to that.

But Arthur's already bad mood was darkening as he watched his manservant busy himself by laying out Arthur's clothes for the day. He thought back to the night before, trying to piece together the bits he could remember. He defiantly danced with Isabelle, that he was certain of, and he also remembered dancing with Gwen, a lot. Other memories were hazy; snatches of conversation, laughter, and dance after dance – mainly with Gwen. He vaguely remembered stumbling down the corridor with Merlin, but nothing after that.

"Did we walk down the corridor?" He asked Merlin with a frown.

"Yeah. Well you didn't really walk; you were too drunk for that, I'd say it was more like staggering. I got you into bed then you passed out." Merlin explained but Arthur was still drawing a blank.

"Is that why I'm still wearing yesterday's clothes?" He asked looking down at himself.

"Yes. You passed out before I could get you to change."

Arthur frowned, still not remembering any of this. He dug around for anything else he could remember and stumbled upon something he must have witnessed before he'd had any drink. As the memory became clear he gasped in surprise at what it contained.

"Arthur?" Merlin asked, hearing his gasp, "Is something wrong?"

"No, no I'm fine." Arthur replied distractedly.

He had to check a couple of times to make sure he wasn't imaging it. But no, he definitely remembered seeing Merlin and Isabelle; kissing.

He looked up at his manservant with a smile. This could be fun, he thought wickedly.

"So did you have a good time last night?" Arthur asked swinging himself out of bed.

"Yes I did." Merlin said with a dreamy smile.

"Isabelle certainly did. I'm sure I remember seeing her with at least half a dozen men." Arthur said stripping off his shirt and discarding it onto the floor as he made his way over to the table.

He watched Merlin carefully as he picked up Arthur's shirt, trying to gauge his reaction. However his features were remaining infuriatingly neutral.

"Really? Well I'm glad she had fun as well." He said calmly.

Arthur frowned, disappointed with his reaction.

"Yeah but she'll probably never talk to any of them again or break their hearts as usual." He said casually.

He saw Merlin falter at his words. However he had his back to him while he was making the bed so Arthur couldn't see his expression. He sighed; tormenting Merlin wasn't as fun as usual. He made his way over to where Merlin had laid out his clothes and changed his trousers. He was about to discard them aimlessly when he caught Merlin looking at him strangely.

"What?" He asked exasperated.

"Nothing." Merlin said quickly, turning away.

"Merlin if you've got something to say, just say it. You do normally." Arthur growled, his head was still aching and Merlin's lack of reaction to his teasing hadn't done anything to improve his mood.

Merlin turned back to face him warily.

"Well I was just wondering if you were going to have a bath this morning like normal." He said apprehensively.

"I thought you said I was running late and so I don't have time?" Arthur said narrowing his eyes at Merlin.

"You are. But..." Merlin hesitated, "Well you kind of smell of booze."

Arthur threw his dirty trousers at Merlin.

"It's the clothes." He stated.

He wasn't in the mood to argue with Merlin, whom noticed this and decided to back down rather than have Arthur put him in the stocks, which seemed likely with him in this mood. Arthur did however, move over to the basin Merlin had prepared and washed his face and chest. He was drying himself off when another figure entered the room unannounced.

Isabelle bounded into the room, which annoyed Arthur in itself. Why was everyone so happy this morning?

"Isabelle! Don't you knock? You're worse than Merlin. It's a good job I'm decent!" He raged.

"Good morning to you too. And anyway it would serve you right for getting up at midday." She replied cheekily.

"So much for being on time Merlin." Arthur growled and Merlin grinned at him sheepishly.

"Someone's grumpy today." Isabelle said, infuriating Arthur more, then turned to Merlin, "Hey Merlin."

She smiled widely at him and he couldn't help but smile back at her happily. He remembered the night before blissfully and all he wanted to do was pull her into an embrace and kiss her, but he restrained himself as Arthur was there. Also Arthur's earlier words were still echoing round his head. Isabelle wouldn't break his heart, would she?

"Why are you so happy?" Arthur snapped at her, pulling his top on.

"I'm sorry Arthur, am I not allowed to be happy or something?" She asked with an impish smile and sat herself in one of Arthur's chairs.

He glowered at her.

"Why aren't you hung-over?" He barked bluntly.

"Oh that's why you're in such a bad mood." Isabelle said, realisation dawning on her, "I've always been better at dealing with hangovers than you, remember?"

"I've never understood that. Merlin seems to have your stupid wonder cure as well." Arthur said sulkily, "I don't understand why neither of you will tell me."

"You really want to know?" She asked, "It's magic."

Both Arthur and Merlin stared at her shocked. Arthur didn't really understand what was going on. He had known Isabelle his whole life. She couldn't seriously be telling him she'd had magic the whole time and he'd never known?

Merlin gripped the back of the chair next to him tightly. His knuckles whitened as he stared at the girl in front of him shocked. He didn't understand how she'd found out his secret but she'd sworn she'd never reveal it. And, like a fool he'd believed her. After all that had happened the night before she couldn't really be betraying his secret.

Isabelle looked at the two shocked boys and burst out laughing. That had been more fun than she'd thought.

"I'm joking." She spluttered through her laughter, "But you should have seen your faces."

Merlin relaxed slightly and sank down onto the chair in relief. Arthur however, did not look relieved. He looked angrier than Isabelle had ever seen him. She had a moment to realise that perhaps it wasn't the best idea, before he spoke.

"Isabelle! Don't joke about things like that! You know the punishment for magic! If anyone else had heard you father would be throwing you in the dungeons as we speak!" He fumed.

Isabelle rolled her eyes at him with a sigh.

"Arthur you have no sense of humour."

Arthur grumbled incoherently at her and made his way over to the widow and glared out of it sulkily. Isabelle glanced at Merlin and caught his eye. She smiled reassuringly at his stunned expression and they both burst out laughing. Arthur growled at his laughing friends.

"You know Isabelle I was just telling Merlin about the about the many men you were with yesterday." Arthur said spitefully, still in a foul mood.

Isabelle sighed; it seemed Arthur was definitely not in the mood for jokes this morning. Well two can play at this game, she thought.

"First of all there was only one man, not many, and secondly it's not like you were without more than your fair share of women last night."

Merlin smiled as the two nobles continued their bickering. He watched Isabelle fondly and reflected on how lucky he was. He had never met a woman like her before. She was so full of energy and wasn't afraid to voice her opinions. Other than Morgana and Gwen he had never met another woman who was so ready to disagree with Arthur. And even they had a limit but Isabelle never seemed to agree with Arthur despite his position. Even though she was near, his heart still ached with longing to be with her. But Arthur's words had planted a seed of doubt in his mind and he was wondering whether she truly felt the same for him.

His thoughts were cut off as his stomach rumbled. He'd been running so late this morning that he hadn't had time for breakfast. His eyes landed on Arthur's breakfast next to him on the table and his mouth watered at the thought of it. He tore his eyes away from it, reminding himself of the last time he had stolen food from Arthur. Granted it hadn't been for him, but he didn't really want to relive the experience.

He looked over at Arthur and Isabelle, who were still bickering, and tried not to think of food. However his eyes strayed back to the plate of food and he looked at it longingly. There was so much, surely Arthur wouldn't notice if he had a little bit. He grabbed a small chunk of bread off the plate and popped it into his mouth. He sighed in pleasure at the taste.

"Merlin!" Arthur's sharp voice cut through is pleasure, "Are you eating my breakfast?"

"No." Merlin replied but his mouthful of food gave it away.

"Merlin you have to be the worst servant in history! You're not supposed to bring me breakfast then eat it yourself! What am I..."

Arthur broke of his rant, staring at Merlin in horror. His face had drained of colour and he seemed to be struggling to breathe.

"Merlin? Are you okay?" Isabelle asked full of concern.

"And now he's choking. It serves you right for eating my food." Arthur said exasperated.

"Arthur I don't think he's choking." Isabelle said getting up and moving over to his side, "Merlin? Merlin?"

Merlin was struggling for breath. His vision had clouded and he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head. It was a cool morning but Merlin was suddenly boiling. He cast around for some explanation as to what was happening to him but his brain seemed to have stopped functioning. He was vaguely aware of Isabelle next to him but he couldn't hear a word she was saying through the ringing in his ears.

"Arthur!" He managed to gasp before everything went black.


	8. Chapter 8

**Merry Christmas everyone, I hope you all had a good day. Sorry about the delays, also further updates may also be delayed as I'm at my Grandma's at the moment but I'll try my best. Also sorry to everyone for the cliffhanger at the end of the last chapter but hopefully this one will make things better, well marginally. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed please keep it up, and if you haven't reviewed (why not?) I'd really like to know what you think. And thanks to Roses-as-lips for the beta. Enjoy. x**

* * *

Chapter 8

"Merlin!" Isabelle cried as he slumped in his chair.

She tried to support him, but failed, and Merlin toppled off his chair onto the floor. She knelt beside him, gripping his hand tightly.

"Merlin!" She shouted again, shaking him, trying to wake him up.

Arthur was frozen in shock. He had thought that Merlin was choking, like the idiot he was, but would be fine. And then he had collapsed, shaking Arthur to the core. He didn't know what to do; he had never felt so helpless. He looked down at the younger boy and saw how fragile he looked. Arthur had never really noticed it before but in that moment he saw Merlin, not as his clumsy but reliable servant, but as his delicate friend who needed protection. Protection Arthur had failed to provide.

Isabelle was knelt next to Merlin, calling his name frantically. She looked up at Arthur and saw he hadn't moved.

"Arthur, help me!" She called and turned her attention back to Merlin.

Her words seemed to jolt Arthur out of his trance and he hurried over to kneel on Merlin's other side. He grabbed the hand Isabelle was not holding and felt for a pulse, his knights training taking over.

"He's got a pulse but it's weak." He told Isabelle, "Did he choke?"

"His breathing is ragged." She replied lifting her head from where she had been listening to his breath, "I don't think he choked Arthur." She said softly, answering his question.

He looked up at her shocked, temporarily distracted from his checking of Merlin's vitals.

"What do you mean he didn't choke?"

"There is nothing in his mouth for him to choke on and his airway is clear." She said tipping Merlin's head back so Arthur could see.

She looked back at him, her faced etched with worry.

"I think he's been poisoned."

Thousands of thoughts rushed through Arthur's mind at her words. Who would want to poison Merlin? What possible reason could they have to hurt him? How was he poisoned in the middle of the castle? Then another, terrible, thought entered Arthur's mind and he looked up at the plate Merlin had been eating from.

_It was meant for me._

"Arthur we need to get him to a physician." Isabelle said, "Arthur?"

He looked back at Isabelle and the concern in her eyes made him want to kill the person that had made her suffer like this.

"You're right. We'll take him to Gaius."

And with that Arthur scooped up the smaller boy and carried him towards the doors. Isabelle rushed ahead to open them for him and the two nobles hurried down the corridor towards Gaius quarters, fearing for their servant's life.

x-x-x

"Gaius!" Arthur called as they burst into his rooms.

He looked up surprised, to see Arthur and Isabelle hurrying into the room, equal looks of panic on their faces. He was puzzled for a moment till he spotted the unconscious figure in Arthur's arms. He nearly cried out in horror as he saw Merlin's limp form. He got up and swiftly made his way over to them.

"Bring him over here." He commanded clearing space on the table next to them.

Arthur placed Merlin's lifeless frame gently down on the table. Isabelle moved with him and perched herself on the edge of the table, holding Merlin's hand. She looked down at the boy in front of her and gently brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes. Her vision clouded as tears welled up in her eyes. Oblivious to the conversation Gaius and Arthur were having she started talking to Merlin.

"Merlin, please wake up." She whispered, "Oh God, don't leave me, what am I going to do without you? We still have to go see the sea, remember? You can't leave now! When you wake I'll take you to Lyonesse and we can walk along the beach and swim in the sea. And Arthur and Gwen and Morgana can come too and we'll have so much fun. Please Merlin, you have to wake up!"

She broke down and sobbed over her dying friend.

x-x-x

Meanwhile Gaius and Arthur had also been talking.

"What happened?" Gaius asked, looking sadly at his unconscious charge.

"I don't know." Arthur replied flustered, "We were just talking and he was fine and then he went white and collapsed. I thought he had choked, because he was eating my breakfast, but Isabelle thinks he's been poisoned."

"Poisoned?" Gaius asked.

He moved to the other side of Merlin and started checking his pulse and temperature.

"His pulse is weak and he has a high fever." He muttered to himself.

"Can you cure him?" Arthur asked tentatively, fearing the answer.

"That depends on what he has been poisoned with. You say he was eating your breakfast?" Arthur nodded, "I'm going to need it, to see if I can discover the poison. Once we know what it is I can work on an antidote."

Arthur opened his mouth to protest that fetching things was definitely not a job for a prince when he looked back at his friends. Merlin, looking peaceful as he slept, and Isabelle, who looked anything but peaceful and clearly not up to doing anything.

"Of course." He nodded and left the room.

The sound of Arthur leaving seemed to jolt Isabelle out of her slump. She looked up at the empty doorway and then at Gaius, who was bustling round the room.

"Gaius." She whispered weakly.

The old man looked up at her and was shaken by what he saw. The usually radiant noble looked dreadful. Her face streaked with tears, grief and pain filling her eyes. Gaius was surprised by the level of pain he saw. She had only been in Camelot a few days yet she looked as traumatised at Merlin's aliment as if she had known him her whole life.

"Are you okay my dear?" He asked kindly, "Here drink this; it will make you feel better."

Isabelle pushed away the cup he was offering her and looked at him seriously.

"I'm fine." She said shortly, glancing back at the door, "Look we haven't got much time, Arthur will be back any minute now." She sighed, "I can't explain everything now. But I know you know Merlin's secret. And you've kept him safe, despite the risks. Anyway I don't think you'll tell anyone, and right now, even if I thought you would, I wouldn't care."

Gaius looked at her blankly. He didn't have a clue what she was trying to tell him.

"Isabelle I..." He started but she cut him off.

"Never mind that now, I'll explain properly later."

She turned back to Merlin ignoring the still confused man.

"_Temprian._" She whispered.

As Gaius watched, her eyes flashed gold and Merlin stirred slightly. His mouth fell open as he saw the young noble whispering different spells over his charge. He couldn't believe that she could do magic. He had known her since she was a child, as had Uther and Arthur, and none of them knew anything of her magic. If they had Gaius knew that would have been the end of her and Arthur's friendship, and probably her life.

Isabelle groaned in frustration, none of her spells were working. She had always been good at healing spells but Merlin seemed unaffected by her words.

"It's not working!" she cried infuriated.

But before either of them could speak, Arthur re-entered the room carrying the plate of food.

"Here." He said handing it to Gaius and making his way over to Merlin, "How is he?"

"Not good Sire." Gaius said, "His fever is getting worse. I know it's not a job for a man of your position but I need someone to fetch some water."

"Do not worry Gaius, I will go."

He squeezed Isabelle's shoulder gently, giving her a comforting smile before he left.

Isabelle looked back at Gaius confused.

"His fever is no worse than it was and you have plenty of water. Why did you send him to fetch some?" She asked with a frown.

Gaius put the plate of food down on the table next to Merlin without a word. Isabelle flinched away from the poisoned food and watched as Gaius pulled a book out from one of the huge piles. Flicking through it he found what he was looking for. He placed the book in Isabelle's hands and she scanned the page quickly.

"I needed Arthur out of the room so I could show you this. I could discover the poison using more...conventional...means but it would take time, time I fear Merlin does not have."

Isabelle suddenly understood. She looked back at the book and read silently through the spell.

"This will identify the poison?" She asked hopefully.

"It should do, if luck is on our side."

"_Bemeldian __éower dierne._" Isabelle whispered over the plate.

Her eyes flashed gold once again and a ghostly image of a flower appeared, hovering over the food. Gaius grabbed another book and flicked through the pages to find a match.

Just as Gaius found one Arthur entered the room carrying a bucket of water. Isabelle quickly broke the spell and the image vanished. She grabbed a cloth of the side and dipped it into the bucket Arthur had brought. She placed the damp cloth on Merlin's forehead and a small moan escaped his lips. Arthur turned to Gaius.

"Have you discovered the poison yet?"

"Yes My Lord." Gaius replied and Isabelle moved over to the two of them, "I believe he was poisoned by Anemone Coronaria. It is a rare blood red flower which, with great skill, can be transformed into a potent poison. Whoever did this, knew what they were doing. A few drops, when brewed correctly, will cause the victim to collapse and remain unconscious for ten days."

"What happens after the tenth day?" Isabelle asked fearfully.

"They die."

"But now you know what it is you can make an antidote right?" Arthur asked.

Gaius looked up and him gravely.

"There is no potion, magical or otherwise," He said, directing the last part to Isabelle, "That I can make to cure this."

Isabelle let out a wail of grief and Arthur felt his heart plummet.

"However there is a cure." Gaius continued.

"But you just said..." Arthur spluttered.

"I said there is no cure _I _can make. It says here; the only known antidote is possessed by the druids." Gaius said softly.

Arthur and Isabelle looked at each other, identical looks of determination on their faces.

"Then we go to the druids." Isabelle said simply.


	9. Chapter 9

**Once again sorry for delays. It seems all I do is apologise for my delays at the moment and I'm afraid it's only going to get worse as I've got exams coming up so I'm stuck doing revision. Though we have snow at the moment (for once) and school is shut so I could make use of my free days and write you a new chapter, but playing in the snow might win out I'm afraid. Anyway enough of my rambling. Thanks to everyone who's read this far and thanks to Roses-as-lips once again for the beta, I owe her big time. As always feedback's always welcome, even criticism but please make it constructive so I know how to improve. I'm going to stop typing now and let you get on with the chapter. Enjoy. x**

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Chapter 9

"What do you mean I'm not coming?" Isabelle asked outraged.

"You're not coming, and that's final." Arthur replied firmly.

They were in Arthur's chambers and he was preparing for the journey. It was a lot of work he realised. He had never known it was this much trouble to prepare a trip. He was starting to realise how much Merlin actually did for him and was feeling his loss already. If Merlin recovers, Arthur thought, I am going to give him a long holiday. _When _Merlin recovers, Arthur corrected himself fiercely.

He glanced up and saw that Isabelle was still fuming at him. They had been having the same argument all the way from Gaius's rooms and Arthur wasn't going to give in. The journey was far too dangerous for a girl. He had failed to protect Merlin; he was not going to fail to protect her.

"And how do you think you're going to get the antidote on your own?" Isabelle asked, trying a different tact, "Seeing as every time you meet the druids you try and kill them. Do you really think they're going to be pleased to see you and just hand over the antidote? They'll probably just kill you before you have a chance to explain why you're there."

"If they are going to kill me on sight then it won't matter if you're there or not, they'll just kill us both. At least if I go alone you'll be safe."

This, rather than calming Isabelle as Arthur had hoped, incensed her more. Did he not realise she could look after herself? She didn't need his protection. Men, she thought angrily, always think they are the only ones who can take care of things. Anyway, Isabelle's secret would keep her safe, and Arthur too, as long as she was there. She knew that Arthur relied heavily on Merlin's magic, though he didn't know it, and she had to be there to fill Merlin's shoes or Arthur would probably end up getting himself killed.

"I don't need you to look out for me Arthur; I can take care of myself." Isabelle sighed, "Merlin would never forgive me if I let you go alone."

At the mention of their friend Isabelle saw Arthur's resolve falter and thought she might, finally, be getting through. However this alone was not enough to make him change his mind.

"Well he would never forgive me if I let you come and you were killed." Arthur replied calmly, packing the last of his things in his bag.

He made to leave but Isabelle blocked his path.

"And how are you going to find the druids on your own?" She asked expectantly, eyebrows raised.

Arthur had to admit, however grudgingly, that she had him there. He hadn't thought past the need to get to the druids and find the cure to think through how he was going to find them. And now he did, he realised he didn't have a clue how to find them. He knew he could easily find the camp where they had been last, but they would be long gone from there now Uther knew where it was. He could go there and try and pick up their trail. But that would take time, and time was not on his side. He looked back at the stubborn girl in front of him and realised he might be beaten.

"You think you know where the druids are?"

"I know how to find them." Arthur hesitated, "Come on Arthur, there is no way you can make it in time without me. And we're just wasting valuable time arguing. Besides you know if you go without me I'll just follow you anyway."

Arthur was beaten. Everything she had said was true, including that she'd just follow him anyway, and he knew he couldn't risk going without her despite his desire to protect her.

"Fine you can come. But we need to leave now."

Isabelle smiled at him but before she could speak someone entered the room. They both turned to see Uther, who looked slightly taken aback to see Isabelle there.

"I apologise for the interruption but I need to speak to my son."

"It's okay, I was just leaving." Isabelle said with a smile, noticing Arthur stiffen next to her at Uther's words.

She turned back to Arthur and gave him a hug, whispering in his ear:

"Meet me at the stables in half an hour. If you're not there I'll presume he's locked you in and come bust you out."

Arthur couldn't help but smile at her words, but then realised that, on reflection, she probably would. She released him and curtsied to Uther before hurrying out of the room leaving Arthur alone with his father.

x-x-x

Isabelle hurried down the corridor to her room. Pushing the door open she found it as pristine as ever. She smiled as she moved around it; Gwen was definitely more efficient than her servants at home. She packed a bag with things she'd need for the journey, making a mental note to stop by the kitchens and armoury on the way to the stables for supplies and weapons.

Satisfied she had everything she needed from there she made to leave when she realised what she was wearing. Isabelle looked down at her elegant dress in despair. Though it may be beautiful it was totally impractical for the trip in hand. She cast round her room for something to change into. She hadn't been able to bring any of her own clothes with her in the panic which had forced her to leave home. So she didn't have any of the outfits which she normally brought with her. Outfits to disguise who she was if she needed time alone undetected. Mainly male clothing which gave her more freedom than she would have dressed as a woman, and were much more practical for riding.

Her eyes landed on the only thing out of place in the room. A basket of washing, Gwen had probably left it when she was tiding up. Isabelle hurried over and began raking through it. She pulled out a couple of items with a smile; these would make the journey much easier.

x-x-x

Dressed in the loose fitting breaches and tunic she had stolen, Isabelle all but ran down the corridor. She had a sword strapped round her waist a crossbow and quiver strapped to her back that she had picked up from the armoury. She hoped Arthur had his own sword with him as she hadn't known what was his in the armoury and he was very picky about his weaponry.

She was so preoccupied with her concern for Merlin and trying to decide whether she had time to visit him before she had to meet Arthur that she almost didn't notice the other person coming down the corridor. She just had time to dodge out the woman's way to prevent them from colliding.

Morgana, who had also been lost in her thoughts, looked up to see Isabelle looking flustered. She took in the other girl's strange appearance and the weapons and supplies she was carrying.

"Isabelle what are you doing?" She asked puzzled, "Where are you going dressed like that?"

"I haven't really got time to explain." Isabelle replied distractedly, "Merlin's been poisoned and Arthur and I have to go find a cure. Look it's too complicated to explain now, ask Gaius he'll tell you. You have to look after Merlin till we get back."

Isabelle gripped Morgana's arm frantically. Morgana looked into her friends eyes and saw the pain and terror in them. She didn't really know what Isabelle was trying to tell her but from what she had grasped from her frantic babbling was that there was something wrong with Merlin, which was causing the terrifying look in the other girl's eyes.

"Please!" Isabelle begged.

"Of course I'll look after him." Morgana said reassuringly, "Where is he."

"With Gaius." Isabelle said relieved, she started to leave but turned back to Morgana suddenly, "And tell Gwen too. Tell her Arthur's fine."

And with that Isabelle turned and ran towards the stables. She could feel their precious time trickling away from them, from Merlin.

x-x-x

Father and son watched each other for a moment after Isabelle left, trying to gauge the other's mood. Eventually Uther, who was not one to approach things subtly, got straight to the point.

"Where have you been Arthur? You were supposed to be at the meeting this morning."

Arthur looked at his father blankly, unsure of what he was talking about. Realisation dawned on him as he vaguely remembered Merlin saying something about meeting his father to review the taxes but it had flown straight out of his head as the terrible events of that morning had unfolded. Arthur sighed, it seemed a lifetime ago that he and Merlin had been joking around but in reality it was only a few hours ago, a fact which his still raging hangover confirmed.

He noticed that his father was looking at him strangely and realised that he was waiting for an answer. Arthur didn't think that Uther would react very well to the truth and cast around for a believable lie.

"Um...I apologize father but I only woke up moments ago having consumed a little too much last night."

Uther scoffed, he had seen how drunk his son was as he was dragged off to his chambers by his manservant, he had had more than a little too much. Speaking of the servant where was he? Uther hardly saw the two of them apart and found it odd that he wasn't there.

"Where is your manservant? Surely he should have woken you?"

"I have no idea. He's probably running late as usual." Arthur replied airily.

Uther watched his son fidgeting and frowned as Arthur's eyes flickered to the door impatiently.

"Am I keeping you from something Arthur?" He asked, snapping Arthur's attention back to him.

"No of course not." Arthur replied a little too quickly.

Uther narrowed his eyes at him. He knew he didn't know his only son as well as he'd like but he could normally tell when Arthur was hiding something from him. And now was definitely one of those times. He didn't know what Arthur was hiding though. He presumed it was something he wouldn't approve of. He suddenly remembered the scene that had met his eyes when he entered the room. He debated trying to draw it out of Arthur but decided he didn't have the time, or patience, for that.

"Are you involved with Isabelle again?"

"What?" Arthur asked stunned.

Of all the things he had expected his father to say that was the last thing he had been expecting.

"No...What...Why would you think that?" He spluttered.

"Okay, but you remember what we discussed last time."

Arthur flushed at the traumatic memory. He had been thirteen and Uther had caught him and Isabelle kissing in one of the corridors. If that hadn't been mortifying enough Uther had then decided later that day to sit him down and tell him about 'the birds and the bees' and then gave him a lecture about the consequences that his actions could have on the kingdom and family honour. Arthur felt his cheeks burning at the memory and had no desire to repeat the experience.

"Yes father. Please I don't need you to repeat it."

"Well if it's not the girl then what is it that you are hiding from me?" Uther barked, losing his patience at his son's secrecy.

"I'm not hiding anything father." He said calmly, trying not to let his impatience show through.

He was wasting valuable time with this pointless conversation. He needed to get out of here and meet Isabelle so they could leave. He saw Uther falter and started to move towards the door. However before he reached it, it opened and the servant he had instructed on the way back from Gaius's entered. Arthur grit his teeth, silently begging the man to have some sense and not give anything away. Unfortunately this man was not the brightest at the best of times and the presence of the king flustered him more. He bowed clumsily to Uther and turned to Arthur.

"I'm sorry My Lord, I didn't mean to intrude. I just thought I should inform you that your horses are ready."

Arthur closed his eyes in despair. Merlin wouldn't have been as stupid as this fool. As much as Arthur teased him for being stupid Merlin had more sense than most of the idiots around here and Arthur was feeling an ache in his chest at the loss of his friend.

He opened his eyes to see Uther glaring at him. The servant had retreated, probably in fear of the King's wrath. He sighed and braced himself for the torrent that was about to come.

"What is the meaning of this Arthur?" He barked, "You have training with the knights in an hour, what can be more important than that?"

Arthur frowned. He could tell from his father's tone that he thought there was nothing more important. Well there might not be to you, Arthur thought angrily, but there is to me. He felt something snap inside him and found himself shouting back at the King.

"My friend's life, that's what!"

Uther frowned at him.

"Arthur what are you talking about? Stop messing around and get back to your duties."

Arthur felt his blood boil at his father's words.

"I am not messing around _father_! Merlin has been poisoned and I am going to find the antidote no matter what you say!"

"Don't take that tone with me young man!" Uther suddenly realised what Arthur had just said, "Merlin? All this is about your manservant? We can always get you a new one Arthur."

"I don't want a new servant father! It is my fault this has happened to him. The poison was meant for me!" Arthur took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, "You're always telling me to honour my promises and take responsibility for my actions. Well I have a responsibility to Merlin and I intend to see it through."

Uther spluttered in amazement. He'd thought Arthur disliked his manservant. He certainly had when Uther had first appointed him. When had things changed? Uther had seen them together and knew Arthur had begun to tolerate him, but he didn't realise their relationship had become so strong that he felt the need to go on a fool's errand for a mere servant. Uther could see Arthur's temper raging within him and knew he felt strongly about this and Uther briefly considered that his son may have been enchanted. He had called the boy his friend for pities sake!

"He's just a servant Arthur." Uther said, trying to make him see sense.

"No father, he's my friend."

And with that Arthur swept from the room and made his way swiftly to the stables, leaving his fuming father behind him.

x-x-x

Arthur entered the stables to see Isabelle loading her horse. She turned at the noise and spotted him. She smiled widely and he saw the relief in her eyes. He noticed she'd changed and he took in her appearance with a smile. The loose outfit was slightly too big for her however it seemed to accentuate her slim frame and she still managed to look elegant in it. Her long hair was tied up in a high ponytail and, as she turned back to her horse, he saw that it still came down to just above her waist. He paused for a moment, wondering how it didn't drive her insane.

"Thank goodness. I thought Uther had locked you up and I might actually have to break you out."

Arthur chuckled and mounted his horse.

"Come on then. We'd better get out of here before he has the chance to."

Isabelle swung herself into the saddle then looked at Arthur impatiently as he mounted his own horse. They trotted out of the stable into the castle courtyard, trying not to draw too much attention to themselves. The bellow that echoed from the castle ruined that plan.

"ARTHUR!"

Arthur and Isabelle looked at each other and, without a word, they cantered out of Camelot. They were glad to be free from the restraints of the castle and to finally be on their way.


	10. Chapter 10

**So after saying it would be ages till I'd update I think this is possibly the quickest I ever have. Well you have the snow to thank for this as it meant school closures and my complete disregard for revision (which you so can't do while there's snow, it's not right) Anyway thanks to Roses-as-lips for the beta and to everyone who has been reading and reviewing, I love you guys. Double digits, exciting! I hope you enjoy it and please review. Thanks. x **

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Chapter 10

They thundered through the forest surrounding Camelot heading south. Arthur watched Isabelle intently every time they came to a turning but she always seemed to take the road heading south without pausing. It was driving him insane trying to work out how she knew where to go. As far as he knew she had never had any contact with the druids, or anyone magical for that matter, so how did she know where they were?

They had been riding for several hours when they came to a fork in the road and Isabelle paused. Arthur frowned at her. They had passed many forks like this one and she hadn't hesitated at any of them. So why was this one any different? He watched the look of concentration on her face as she looked between the two roads. Arthur was starting to feel exasperated. She claimed to know where they were going but refused to tell him. And now it seemed she was lost. As he watched she sighed and closed her eyes, her forehead furrowed with concentration. Arthur, who had been sat quietly the whole time, felt his patience snap and spoke.

"Isabelle do you actually know where we're going?"

"Of course I do." She snapped, surprising Arthur as she normally had a longer fuse than him.

"Well there's no need to snap at me." He said calmly, "It just seems as if you might be lost."

"I'm not lost." She replied shortly.

"So why have we stopped?"

"Because I am trying to remember the way, which would be a lot easier if you'd shut up and stop asking me pointless questions."

Arthur was about to reply when he realised that it was pointless. He sighed and stared round at the trees surrounding them, trying to distract himself from their lack of time and his headache. He strongly regretted the amount he had drunk at the ball as his head was still pounding. He was normally quite good at dealing with hangovers, apart from yelling at Merlin though the boy usually deserved it, however the thundering of the horses' hooves wasn't helping. Every movement sent pain flashing through his skull. He grit his teeth and pushed it to the back of his mind. He had dealt with worse pain and it wasn't him that would suffer if he couldn't.

He glanced back at Isabelle to see that her eyes were open and she was staring down the right hand path. For a moment he thought her eyes were gold but when he blinked they had returned to their normal colour. Arthur dismissed this as a trick of the light and turned back to the problem at hand.

"Well?" He asked expectantly.

"It's this way." She said directing her horse down the right hand path.

She glanced back at Arthur just in time to see him wince in pain.

"Are you alright?" She asked concerned.

"I'm fine, let's go."

"No you're not fine. It's not going to get us there any faster if you collapse in pain halfway there."

Arthur sighed at her, knowing she was right and hating her for it.

"Fine, my head hurts a little but it's nothing."

Isabelle frowned, trying to work out what could be wrong with him. Suddenly she remembered their conversation earlier that day and his hangover. She smiled and briefly thought about leaving him to suffer to teach him a lesson but decided against it, from experience she knew how grumpy he could get.

Turning away from him she grabbed her water bottle from the side of her horse. Holding it in both hands she whispered.

"_G__eedhyrtan, __ácwician, __gecoelan._"

Her eyes flashed gold once again, however this time Arthur didn't see, and the water glowed for a moment before returning to normal. She turned back to Arthur and handed it over.

"Here. It will help with your hangover."

Arthur was about to protest that he wasn't hung over when he realised the futility of it. He eyed the water sceptically, not really believing it would help. He took a swig anyway, purely to humour Isabelle. However the moment he swallowed the liquid he felt his headache disappear and felt revitalised. He inspected the water again then looked at Isabelle incredulously.

"What is this stuff? It's really good."

Isabelle just smiled knowingly at him and took the bottle back, replacing it quickly in her pack.

"Is that your secret hangover cure?" He asked curiously.

Isabelle laughed. If only he knew that my magic can cure any hangover I have before I can feel it, she thought wryly, god it would probably make him want magic what with his habit of hangovers. She smiled at the irony of it all, she hadn't even been sure it was going to work.

"Something like that." She replied with a smile.

"Well why have you never given to me before, just left me to suffer?" Arthur asked annoyed, unused to being denied things.

"But then I wouldn't get to watch you suffering and where would be the fun in that?" She asked cheekily and set off again down the path.

Arthur watched her canter off and rolled his eyes at her. He set off after her, soon catching her up.

x-x-x

They had ridden until they could no longer see the path. It had been an uneventful journey. A couple of times they had stopped at junctions but Isabelle always seemed to find her way after a moment's hesitation. She had wanted to keep going even once it had fallen dark but Arthur had managed to persuade her that it was futile to keep going as without any light as they would most likely get lost and waste more time than they'd gain. What he didn't add was that she clearly needed to rest, she looked exhausted with worry and Arthur knew if they didn't rest soon they would both end up collapsing with exhaustion.

So they had set up camp in a small clearing. Arthur had caught a couple of rabbits while Isabelle set up a fire. He was surprised that she had gotten such a good fire going in the time he was away but decided she must share Merlin's gift for starting fires, which he'd always been rubbish at, though he would never admit it.

They had eaten and were now sat by the fire, lost in their thoughts. Arthur looked at Isabelle closely and was surprised by what he saw. His usually radiant friend seemed a shell of her normal self. He could see that worry was eating her up and she didn't look like she should be in a forest, but he knew she wouldn't take well to him trying to send her back.

"Are you alright?" He asked eventually.

Isabelle looked up at him in surprise.

"Of course I am." She replied slightly confused, with a small smile, "Why would you think I'm not?"

"Because you're never this quiet. Normally you don't shut up, you're worse than Merlin." With a smile as he remembered his friend Arthur corrected himself, "Well not quite as bad as Merlin, no one is as bad as him."

Isabelle laughed at that, remembering Merlin's tendency to let his mouth run away from him.

She got up and turned to make sure the horses had everything they needed.

"You and Merlin have my blessing by the way." Arthur said from behind her.

She froze in shock at his words. Turning round slowly she inspected the neutral expression on Arthur's face in panic.

"What do you mean 'me and Merlin'?" She asked, faking confusion.

"Don't play dumb with me Isabelle. I saw the two of you kissing outside at the ball." He chuckled at her shocked expression, "Don't worry I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to."

She sunk back down onto her seat with a sigh.

"I'm just surprised you remember with the amount you had to drink." She smiled as he looked at her exasperated, "Since when do I need your blessing anyway?"

Arthur thought she might be angry but the smile playing at the corner of her mouth told him otherwise.

"Since you started dating my manservant." He replied smartly.

Isabelle smiled but the sadness had reappeared in her eyes. She sighed and sunk her head into her hands.

"This is all my fault." She mumbled through her hands.

"Don't say that!" Arthur growled fiercely, "This is not your fault. If anything it's mine."

Isabelle looked up at him confused.

"It was my food that was poisoned, my food that he ate. The poison was meant for me." He explained.

Isabelle sighed exasperated.

"You'd rather you were poisoned and the king searched the kingdom for whoever did it? Blindly executing anyone he could get his hands on with even the slightest connection to magic?" She asked angrily.

"No but..." Arthur trailed off, "I just wish it wasn't Merlin."

Isabelle looked at him sadly. He still thought it was his fault. She knew it wasn't however. Knew that it was no coincidence that her home town was attacked by a sorcerer and then someone had tried to poison the crown prince days after she had arrived in Camelot. As much as people told her the writing on the wall of the castle was nonsense and it wasn't her fault she knew better. She had a dark secret that she was ashamed off. She burnt with desire to tell Arthur but feared his reaction. To her it didn't matter that she had been young and foolish at the time. She had still caused this, and nothing she could do could erase the past.

"Isabelle?" Arthur asked softly.

She tried to smile at him reassuringly but her eyes filled with tears at his kindness. She hadn't meant to bring this upon her old, and new, friends. Arthur, mistaking her tears for worry about Merlin, placed his hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"He'll be okay; we're going to make it in time. You should get some rest Bells." He said softly using his childhood nickname for her.

"It has been a long time since you called me that." She said, smiling through her tears.

He smiled back at her and she moved over to her bedroll, wiping her tears away angrily, she hated crying.

Even though it had been a warm day it was still early spring and, as it had become night, the temperate had dropped. Isabelle buried into her bedroll shivering. She glanced over and saw that Arthur was still sat by the fire and was also shivering in the cold. She sighed and closed her eyes, trying to block out the cold and get to sleep. After a while she felt Arthur moving and opened her eyes, giving up on sleep, to see him stood nearby. She watched him busy himself getting ready for bed. She shivered and realised it was stupid for them both to freeze.

"Arthur." She said and he turned to look at her, surprised she was still awake.

Pulling her covers back slightly she looked at him questionably. Smiling Arthur moved over and climbed into the bedroll with her. She snuggled into him, feeling his warm body warming her slight frame. He placed one hand on her back and she flinched slightly.

"Dear God Arthur, your hands are freezing." She muttered.

"You're not exactly warm yourself." He replied.

She pulled a face at him but he couldn't see. They lay there in silence for a while, both glad to be warmer. Arthur thought Isabelle had fallen asleep but she spoke once again.

"You and Gwen have my blessing too." She whispered sleepily.

She felt his chest vibrate with his laughter.

"Go to sleep." He told her, "Night Bells."

"Night Art."

He smiled at her use of his old nickname and closed his eyes.

x-x-x

Isabelle woke the next morning slightly confused as to why she was resting her head on someone's chest. Suddenly the night before come flooding back and she looked up to see Arthur's sleeping face. Stretching gently, so as not to wake him, she reflected on how in the past she would have killed to be sleeping next to him. But now it seemed nothing more than two friends sharing body heat to keep warm. She laughed slightly as she gently eased herself out of the bedroll.

"What's so funny?"

She looked down at Arthur. He still had his eyes shut but she knew he was awake. Abandoning her attempt to be quiet now she knew he wasn't asleep she pulled herself fully out of the roll before answering.

"Nothing. It's just this is not what I imagined waking up with Arthur Pendragon would be like."

"Well what is it like?" He asked with a cheeky smile.

"Meh, I've had better."

"Isabelle!" Arthur said shocked, snapping his eyes open.

"What? You asked." She said innocently, stretching properly and moving over to the remnants of the fire.

"Who have you been waking up next to?" He asked suspiciously watching her pottering around, "And who could possibly be better than me?"

Ignoring him Isabelle started packing their camp away. Arthur watched her with a frown, determined to get an answer.

"Isabelle?" He growled impatiently.

"My personal life is none of your business." She replied simply, refusing to look at him.

Arthur sighed, she was too stubborn for her own good. He tried a different tact.

"I'm a prince so you have to tell me."

Isabelle frowned at his awful logic. Did he seriously think that was going to get her to tell him?

"No you're my friend so that means I can tell you to mind your own damn business."

Arthur looked at her shocked as he got up. She turned to face him and, spotting his expression, flashed him a cheeky smile and threw him his pack.

"Come on, we need to get going if we're going to make it in time."


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry again, I know I suck at updating regularly. But in my defence school has been manic and I got a little carried away with this chapter and had to spilt it in two which means the next chapter should be up in the next couple of days, I hope. Anyway huge thanks to everyone who has reviewed and Roses-as-lips for the beta. x**

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Chapter 11

They had been riding for four days and tempers were running high. Arthur and Isabelle hardly spoke, their usual banter had been replaced by tense silence. Both were all too aware of their precious time slipping away; Merlin only had ten days, and they were already on the fourth. Arthur's patience, what little he ever had, was wearing thin. Isabelle still refused to tell him where they were going and he hated not being in control. What he didn't realise was that Isabelle didn't know the way either. She was using her magic to track the druids but she couldn't tell how close they were. She was becoming more and more frantic as the days wore by and was feeling the strain of using her magic so much, with such little rest. This was resulting in her becoming short tempered and irritable. Combined with Arthur's impatience the consequence was either stormy silence or arguing. It was taking all of his will power not to shout at her every time they stopped, and even that was wearing thin.

They had been riding for several hours that day, having been up since the crack of dawn. Neither had got much sleep due to worry and it was making them more irritable than normal. Isabelle stopped at another junction to get her bearings and Arthur felt his patience snap.

"Oh for god's sake Isabelle. We're stopping again, seriously?" He snapped.

"Well do you want to get there or do you just want to wander around in the forest randomly until we find them?" Isabelle replied scathingly.

"Do you even know where we're going?" He asked infuriated.

"Of course I do." She lied, "What, do you not trust me now?"

"Isabelle you are the most geographically challenged person I know so don't blame me if I have my doubts."

Isabelle whirled round in her saddle to glare at Arthur, eyes blazing with anger. Arthur vaguely realised that what he'd said was a mistake, but he was too stubborn to take it back.

"Oh, well if that's the way things are then maybe you'll have more luck on your own." She spat at him.

Turning back, her eyes blazed gold and she urged her horse down the left hand path. Arthur watched her go with a frown, he had never seen her so short-tempered. He knew she hadn't been sleeping well and, from experience, knew that lack of sleep didn't agree with her, but this seemed to be something more. Though she tried to hide it he'd seen the look of exhaustion on her face and knew she was draining herself. Praying they would find the druids soon he nudged his horse into a canter after her.

"Isabelle!" He called, to no avail.

He caught a glimpse of her as he rounded the corner but she refused to stop. Sighing angrily Arthur sped up to catch her, calling her name. However she resolutely refused to stop.

"Isabelle!" He shouted angrily.

Following the winding path Arthur burst out of the trees into a clearing. Pulling his horse to a halt he just avoided crashing into Isabelle who had stopped near the mouth of the clearing.

"Isabelle, what are you doing? Why did you rush off like that? And why have you stopped?" Arthur asked exasperated.

"We're here." Isabelle said simply, swinging herself down from her horse.

Arthur frowned, unsure what she was talking about. Taking another look round the clearing he saw what he had missed the first time. There were around a dozen people stood at the other end of the clearing. Dismounting Arthur moved to stand next to Isabelle, leading his horse. He inspected the people watching them. They all looked wary of them and a couple looked openly hostile. None of them made any move towards them. Isabelle and Arthur hesitated, unsure what to do.

"So much for scouting the area before we made a move." Arthur muttered wryly, discarding plan A.

"Like that was ever going to work." Isabelle scoffed before striding forward.

Arthur rolled his eyes at his stubborn friend. Watching her stride over to the druids he did have to admit she looked impressive. Head held high she carried herself with authority and dignity. Her hair, which she had left untied that morning, billowed behind her catching the wind. She'd make a good queen, he thought with a smile. Realising what he'd just thought he shook himself. She's not going to be queen, he scolded himself, it's not like that anymore.

Not to be outdone, he straightened up and swaggered over to where Isabelle had stopped, using all of his royal upbringing to look as impressive as possible. As he reached her he noticed the ripple of fear that went through the crowd at the sight of him. He smiled internally, at least they knew the power he held whether they were sorcerers or not.

The only person who seemed unaffected by his presence was a tall middle aged woman. Arthur inspected her curiously. She was staring at a point to the left of Arthur, not looking at either of them. Under other circumstances this would have infuriated Arthur however the woman commanded an air of power and respect which had even him feeling slightly intimidated. He glanced briefly at Isabelle to see if she was feeling the same. She was staring at the woman but her forehead was crinkled with confusion rather than intimidation, as if she was trying to work something out. Before either Arthur or Isabelle could come up with something to say, she spoke.

"The young Pendragonand his princess, you arrive at last. We have been waiting for you."

Shock reverberated through both nobles at her words, however for different reasons.

"How do you know my name?" Arthur asked, though the answer was obvious, "And how did you know we were coming?"

"Wait a minute, 'his princess'? Hell no!" Isabelle exclaimed, "Seriously no. Not in a million years no."

"You don't need to sound so disgusted by the thought." Arthur said, slightly offended, "That's not what you used to say."

Isabelle elbowed him in the ribs with a smile.

"Shut up." She whispered before turning back to the druids, "Well it seems you know who we are, so you probably know why we're here."

"We have known for a while you would come." She said, inclining her head slightly, "Follow me."

The woman turned and disappeared into the trees. After a moment's hesitation the rest turned to follow. Arthur exchanged a look with Isabelle before, they too, started to move towards the trees.

"The horses." Isabelle remembered suddenly.

Turning back to where they had left the horses she saw two of the druids leading the horses towards them. She frowned, sure she hadn't heard them move behind her. However as she turned to ask Arthur about this she realised the others had moved off without her. Satisfied that their rides home weren't about to be stolen she hurried on.

After a brief walk she came to another clearing. This one was much larger than the one they had just left. Glancing round she took in the tents and fires around the camp. She smiled feeling the homely atmosphere of the whole place. However this was ruined by the attitude of the people. They had all stopped whatever they had been in the middle of and were glaring at the group who had just arrived, most of them not bothering to hide their hostility.

Hanging back by the edge of the trees she watched as Arthur followed the strange woman through the camp, ignoring the other occupants. She smiled, it seemed that being an arrogant prat was paying off for once. She hesitated, as much as she pretended to be strong and not care what the others thought, inside she was still the fragile, self-conscious, little girl she had always been. Watching Arthur face their hostility with such indifference made her want to go stand proudly next to him. However she wasn't sure she would be able to handle the druids' contempt, especially knowing she shared their secret, the secret that had caused them to be hunted their whole life.

Taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders she stepped into the clearing with as much grace as she could muster. She knew how to play the haughty noble; she had been doing it for years. Using that experience she focused on Arthur and the woman, ignoring everyone else. Out of the corner of her eye she saw many of the men's expressions turn from hostile to admiring. Smiling to herself she reached Arthur, men were the same no matter whether they lived in a castle or a forest.

There was another man sat by the fire that the woman had led them to. She had settled herself on a log by the fire but Arthur was still standing.

"Thanks for waiting." Isabelle whispered to him sarcastically.

Taking a seat opposite the man she flashed him a dazzling smile. Arthur glared at her then him. Realising he was the only one still standing he took a seat next to Isabelle, sitting slightly closer than necessary. Isabelle rolled her eyes at his over protectiveness; it wasn't like she couldn't look after herself.

"So these are the nobles from Camelot we've been expecting?" The man said, cutting off her train of thought.

His voice was gruff and it sounded wearied by age, though Isabelle thought he couldn't have been any more than thirty. He was definitely not the oldest man there but both Isabelle and Arthur knew he was their leader. He stared at them in silence for a long time. His piercing green eyes seemed to be bristling with power and passion. Isabelle felt herself shiver under his scrutiny but refused to look away. She had as much right to be there as he did, he was not going to intimidate her. She felt him probe at her mind and slammed down with all her powers to push him out.

Arthur looked from one to the other, watching the two pairs of green eyes bore into each other. He saw the determination in Isabelle's pale ones, but the man's deep green eyes seemed to be trying to see deep inside her and Arthur didn't like it.

After what seemed like an age to Arthur, the man turned his attention away from Isabelle and onto Arthur. Glaring at him the man spoke again.

"Well well, if it isn't the young prince come to ask for our help. What would your father say if he could see you now?" The man growled, "We owe many of our grievances to you boy, what makes you think we'd want to help you?"

Without giving Arthur a chance to reply he turned back to Isabelle and continued.

"And the Lady Isabelle as well, what a pleasure." He said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "We were sorry to hear about the attack on your home. Such a shame that your father was a causality in it. A tragedy."

Arthur felt Isabelle stiffen beside him at the mention of the attack. He took her hand in his comfortingly and placed his other hand on his sword hilt. If this was the sorcerer who had attacked her home he was going to kill him right now and damn the consequences.

However the man seemed to sense this as he turned back to Arthur scathingly.

"Relax boy, it was not us who harmed her town. Her father was good to our people, which is more than can be said for yours."

Isabelle could see the two men were about to start an argument that wasn't going to end well. She spoke quickly before either of them had a chance to.

"So you know who we are, you know where we're from and I'm betting you know why we're here as well, yet we don't even know your names. That hardly seems fair does it?" She said coolly.

Arthur thought he detected a hint of flirtation in her tone and knew how good she was at manipulating men, but he still couldn't help but worry that she was slipping into dangerous territory.

The man laughed at her boldness. With a quick glance at the woman beside him he decided it was only fair to give them some answers, despite his trepidation of revealing anything to Uther's son. He concluded that they could easily wipe his mind if anything went wrong, besides they heavily outnumbered the pair.

"My name is Idris and I am in charge here." He said to Isabelle, ignoring Arthur completely, "This is Azaria." He indicated the woman who had brought them there, "She is our prophetess."

Isabelle turned to Azaria who had been sitting silently throughout, listening to the conversation.

"You're a seer?" She asked intrigued.

"But you're blind." Arthur stated bluntly.

Isabelle threw him a scathing look and elbowed him.

"Arthur!" She turned back to Azaria apologetically, "I'm sorry about him."

"Do not worry my dear." Azaria said kindly and Isabelle took an instant liking to her, "Though I may not be able to see this world I have been gifted with future sight."

Isabelle looked like she wanted to ask more but Idris spoke before she could.

"So I believe we have something you are looking for, an antidote?"

"Yes. Our friend, he was poisoned and you are the only people with the cure."

"What makes you think we are going to help you?" He asked casually, leaning back and surveying them curiously.

Both Arthur and Isabelle stared at him shocked. Neither had even considered that the druids would refuse to help.

"Because...because it's the right thing to do." Isabelle spluttered, "I thought you were supposed to help people in need."

"We do. Magical people. Not people like him." Idris said shortly.

Both nobles gaped at him. Idris was once again glaring at Arthur.

"But it's not him you would be helping, it's Merlin!" Isabelle exclaimed frantically.

"Emyrs?" Azaria asked suddenly.

Isabelle and Arthur looked at her in confusion, unsure who she was talking about. Idrishowever looked at her sharply, his brow furrowing. They seemed to be silently conversing. Arthur looked at Isabelle in confusion. She was frowning at the two of them as if trying to work out what they were saying. As he watched her she sighed in frustration and seemed to give up. She turned to Arthur and smiled reassuringly, however to his eyes she looked tenser than him.

The two druids finished their silent conversation and turned back to the nobles. Isabelle saw the cunning look in Idris' eye and knew she wasn't going to like what was coming next.

"Fine we will help you, for Emyrs' sake." He said to Isabelle, "But we will only help you."

Isabelle frowned at him, unsure what he was getting at.

"Ditch lover boy and we will deal with you, but only you. He has to leave or we will not help you." He said simply.

"You are not serious!" Arthur exclaimed, "That's ridiculous."

Arthur turned to Isabelle incredulous and saw that her reaction was very different to his. If they had been standing up he would have taken a step back from the fury that was emanating from her. She very rarely lost her temper, and never like this, she had always seemed able to keep her anger in check. Everyone has to have a breaking point, he thought apprehensively as the air around her crackled with power.

"So what is your decision?" Idris asked, oblivious to her fury.

"No." She spat at him.

Idris looked taken aback but soon regained his composure.

"You are rejecting my offer?" He asked, trying to remain calm, "You are refusing the chance to save your friend?"

"No I am not, because you are going to help us. _Both _of us." She said, her voice level but laced with fury.

"And what makes you think that?"

"Because if you don't then there won't be any druids left to lead."

Idris laughed at that, increasing Isabelle's anger. She could feel it threatening to take control of her. She had to fight to stay in control. She knew that if she couldn't keep it in check then she would lose control of her magic as well, and from experience she knew that didn't end well.

"Girl you may have a little power but you are outnumbered here." He stood up, "These are my people, so you will either accept my terms or leave."

Arthur noticed the rest of the camp had stopped to watch the argument. He debated saying something to Isabelle to try and calm her down but decided she would probably turn on him as well. He had only seen her like this once before, and needless to say she had gotten her way then.

Isabelle stood up as well, glaring at Idris. How dare this man talk to her like that? She had never been one to demand that people treat her with the respect due to her class but he had no right to talk to anyone like that. She laughed hollowly at his words.

"They may be your people for now but your job is to help those in need, that is why they are here. How long do you think they'll want you as leader when you refuse to help their salvation because of your pride? You need him just as much as we do, I heard enough of your conversation, despite your blocks, to realise that. How willing are you to risk that future you so want to achieve?"

Arthur was thoroughly confused now. Their salvation, what was she talking about? And who was it that they needed for their future? Surely they couldn't be talking about Merlin? Isabelle continued talking, regardless of Arthur's confusion.

"And who are you to judge us? A father's sins should not condemn the son, you should not tar him with the same brush. Arthur is twice the man you'll ever be. Or maybe you'd prefer to kill him now and have Uther name a clone of himself as heir rather than having a man who can think for himself?"

Isabelle finished her speech and glared at Idris, breathing heavily with anger. He looked stunned by her outburst. The two of them stood watching each other warily in the silence that had fallen over the camp. Azaria was the first to speak, to the surprise of all.

"She's right." She said simply.

Idris' gaze flickered to the woman then across the camp and silent onlookers. He sighed in frustration and closed his eyes in despair.

"Fine, he can stay."

The whole camp, who had been collectively holding their breath, let out a sigh of relief. Many people seemed less than pleased at the decision but most were just glad it had been resolved without conflict. Isabelle sat back down with a sigh of relief. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath calming herself. Opening her eyes she peeked at Arthur, fearful of his reaction. He chuckled at her expression, suddenly reminded of the cheeky little girl who would give him those puppy dog eyes when she had done something she wanted him to take the blame for. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and gave her a brief squeeze.

"Wow, that was brilliant." He whispered, his heart swelling with pride.

She grinned at him mischievously.

"I know I'm brilliant, you just never listen to me." She replied cheekily.

Arthur pulled a face at her then looked at Idris who was still glowering at him.

"So are you going to give us the antidote then?" He asked coolly.

"No, not yet. First there are trials you have to complete." Idris snapped angrily.

"What? But you said..." Isabelle trailed off.

"It is traditional." Azaria cut in airily, "The seeker has to prove they are worthy."

Isabelle frowned in confusion at their strange traditions. Arthur was also frowning, but for a completely different reason, his frown was filled with anger.

"Wait, so you were just going to send me away and leave Isabelle to face these trials alone?" He asked outraged.

"Trust me boy, she is much better equipped for them than you are." Idris replied leering at Isabelle.

"If you lay so much as one finger on her, I will make you wish you were dead." Arthur growled threateningly.

"Calm yourself, it is not what you are thinking." Azaria replied calmly, "You will understand tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Isabelle asked quizzically.

"Yes, the trials will take place tomorrow."


	12. Chapter 12

**This was supposed to have been up yesterday but it wouldn't let me upload it. It continues straight on from the chapter before so you might want to flick back if you can't remember what just happened. Huge thanks to everyone who has reviewed, I love you guys. And thanks to Roses-as-lips for the beta. Enjoy. x**

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Chapter 12

"You have got to be joking!" Isabelle exclaimed, "Tomorrow? We don't have time to wait till then. Merlin is dying as we speak and you want to leave it till tomorrow?"

"You haveplenty of time. This is his fourth day, he has six left. Assuming you succeed tomorrow you will still have five days to get home, much longer than it took you to get here." Azaria reasoned.

Isabelle couldn't deny that what she'd said made sense but hated the thought that they were so close to be just hanging around.

"But can't you just..."

"No." Idris cut her off sharply, "I have already done you a favour letting him stay, I will not change anything else to suit your whims!"

Silence followed his words as Isabelle battled with her anger. She knew arguing with him further wasn't going to change his mind, but she couldn't help feeling angry at him. As if he sensed her turmoil Arthur spoke up.

"So what are these trials?" He asked as pleasantly as he could under the circumstances.

"I will tell you in the morning, once I have decided." Idris replied offhandedly, standing up.

"You haven't decided yet?" Arthur asked incredulous.

He felt his heart sink, if the trials were Idris' decision then they weren't going to be easy, or even possible if the look he was throwing them was anything to go by.

"Bliant here will show you where you may stay tonight." Idris said, ignoring Arthur's question.

And with that he turned on his heel and strode off into the camp, disappearing into one of the tents. The small boy Idris had just indicated stood nearby nervously, his eyes flickering anxiously from Arthur to Isabelle as if they were about to attack him. Arthur stood up and stretched slightly, his muscles aching from the long ride. He turned to see that Isabelle was still sitting down.

"Are you coming?" He asked her.

She looked up in surprise. She hadn't heard him get up as she'd been so absorbed in her thoughts.

"No you go on. I'll catch up with you later." She said with a smile.

Arthur frowned at her puzzled but didn't say anything. She watched him follow Bliant off into the camp. Once she was convinced he was out of earshot she turned to Azaria.

"Can I ask you something?" Isabelle asked tentatively.

"Ask away." Azaria replied with a smile.

"Why did you call me Arthur's 'princesses'?"

"It was just a phrase, I'm sorry if I offended you." She replied casually.

Isabelle's eyes narrowed suspiciously, she knew there was more to it than that.

"But it wasn't just you. Idris called him 'lover boy'." Isabelle said disdainfully.

"That is just the way Idris is, it doesn't mean anything."

"It does." Isabelle said stubbornly, "There is more to it and you are letting on. Please tell me."

Azaria sighed and closed her unseeing eyes in frustration. She opened them and turned her pale blue eyes to Isabelle.

"One day you will be. You will become his princess and the future queen of Camelot."

Isabelle stared at her incredulously. Azaria had to be joking, there is no way she was going to marry Arthur. What about Merlin, and Gwen? However a small voice in the back of her mind was whispering that this woman could see the future, maybe she was right.

"No, I'm not going to be his princess. We're not like that anymore." Isabelle said flustered, "I mean a long time ago that would have been welcome news, a very long time ago. But now, there is someone else."

"You would not do it for love; you would do it for duty."

"Duty? I'm not marrying anyone for _duty_." She said stubbornly.

"But you would, for your brother." Isabelle paled at the mention of Tristan, "It would benefit him and Lyonesse greatly if his sister was married to the future king of Camelot. And Uther would reveal that it had been your father's wish for you to marry Arthur. Arthur would be pressurised into it by his father and push away the desires of his heart for the sake of his kingdom."

Isabelle gaped at Azaria speechless. The scenario she had just described was exactly what Isabelle had feared. She could just see Uther springing that upon them, whether it had really been her father's wish or not. And somehow she doubted it had been as he was always less than thrilled when they were together.

"But what about Merlin and Gwen?" She whispered quietly.

"That is not the definite future my dear." Azaria said reassuringly, "Forward sight is complicated; there are many possible paths the future can take. The future is not set in stone; it can be changed by the smallest decision. And if your lives follow your destinies then they will turn out very differently."

"What is our destiny?" Isabelle asked fearfully.

She had a sinking feeling that she wasn't going to like this turn of events any better.

"According to your destinies, Arthur will disobey his father's wishes and marry Guinevere once he becomes King." Isabelle smiled at that but Azaria's next words destroyed that, "However she will be unfaithful, betraying Arthur with Lancelot which will eventually result in his downfall."

Isabelle gaped at that. She couldn't see Gwen, dear sweet Gwen, betraying Arthur like that. She didn't seem the type to be unfaithful. Then again, Isabelle reflected, she had only known Gwen for a couple of days. Pushing that haunting thought to the back of her mind she concentrated on the people Azaria had yet to mention, though her stomach was clenched with fear of what was to come.

"What about Merlin, Morgana...me?"

"Feeling lonely and isolated the Lady Morgana turns to the only person who seems to understand; her half sister Morgause, who leads her into evil and towards the destruction of Uther, Camelot and King Arthur."

Isabelle was right that she wasn't going to like this. She wished she could erase everything she'd just been told from her mind and go on as she had before. However Azaria was still speaking, and this was the part she wanted to know least.

"Arthur gets the antidote back in time to save Merlin who goes on to be King Arthur's most trusted adviser and the greatest sorcerer in the world."

Isabelle released the breath she hadn't been aware she was holding. Merlin was going to be fine. Her brief elation was gripped by an ice cold fear as she realised the one person Azaria had missed out.

"And what about me?" Now she knew most of it, she may as well know the rest.

"Arthur delivers the antidote to Merlin." Azaria repeated gravely, "You don't survive to make it back to Camelot."

x-x-x

Arthur had followed the fearful Bliant to the tent they would be staying in. The young boy had muttered something about it being comfortable then scurried away. Arthur watched him go with a frown. He didn't like the fear he'd seen in the young boy's eyes. He glanced round the camp at the occupants who were all avoiding his gaze. His stomach twisted with guilt as he wondered how many of them had been forced to flee their homes because of him or his father. Feeling uncomfortable at the thought he set off towards the edge of the camp, trying to escape the accusing looks they were shooting him when they thought he wasn't looking.

Reaching the trees he spotted Isabelle still sat by the fire where he'd left her. Azaria seemed to have left her and she was gazing into the fire. Arthur frowned, concerned at the haunted look that had appeared in her eyes. He knew her well enough to be able to tell that something was deeply wrong as not even her worry for Merlin had caused her to look so distressed.

He was about to move over to her when he saw Bliant appear by her side. He said something to her hesitantly but Arthur was too far away to be able to hear. He presumed that the young boy had been told to look after them although Arthur thought he couldn't be any more than ten years old.

Arthur watched as Isabelle smiled at him and spoke. Arthur frowned as he saw Bliant's face light up at Isabelle's words. His confusion grew as the young boy sat down next to Isabelle and started talking animatedly. Arthur sighed, it seemed it was only him that the druids were afraid off, or angry at. He felt a slight pang of jealousy that Isabelle seemed to be managing to fit in but pushed it away angrily. As he watched the flames in the fire in front of them seemed to glow brighter and twist themselves together forming pictures in the fire. Arthur winced and turned away from the sweet boy with all that power at his fingertips.

He moved on round the edge of the camp to see that the clearing branched off into another, smaller, clearing. Arthur briefly wondered whether he was allowed in here as it seemed to be deserted, but curiosity got the better of him and he moved into the smaller clearing. At first glance it seemed empty but when Arthur took another look round he saw there was a large rock at the other end. He stared making his way over to it and as he neared it he frowned at what he had missed from further back. The stone seemed to have a sword sticking out the top of it. He approached warily and inspected it. The sword had writing all along it's blade but it was in a language he had never seen before.

After glancing round the clearing again to make sure it was still deserted Arthur tentatively reached one hand out and ran it across the hilt. He jerked his hand back as he felt the power emanating from the sword. Even after he'd removed his hand he could still feel it's power running through him. He backed away slowly, fearful of the deep magic residing in it. Despite his limited knowledge of magic he realised that whatever power had created this was much stronger than the druids. Worried that this was some sort of sacred object to them Arthur swiftly left the clearing, making sure as not to be seen.

x-x-x

Despair filled Isabelle as she gazed into the fire absently. Her mind was reeling with what Azariahad told her. It seemed she was either going to be stuck in a loveless marriage to Arthur or die before they got back to Camelot. The selfish part of her was hoping that she would survive to make it back to Camelot, even if it meant she was going to be stuck with Arthur.

However she knew she wouldn't be the only one whose wishes would be ignored if she and Arthur got married. Arthur himself would sacrifice Gwen and his desires, although from what she now knew would happen if they did marry she wondered if Arthur would have any more luck with that marriage. She knew the selfless thing to do would be to somehow make sure their lives followed the second path so Arthur and Gwen could have their happiness, if even just for a short time, though self-preservation was making it hard to accept that.

She was slightly irritated when Bliant interrupted her thoughts to ask her if she needed anything but the fearful look in his eyes removed that and she felt the need to stop this boy from being scared of her. So she had told him about her magic. The moment she did she felt fear course through her body. The last time she had told anyone about her magic it had turned into a nightmare and she hadn't been able to tell anyone since, not even Merlin who she knew had magic of his own and so wouldn't care. She just couldn't bring herself to say the words. So why was she suddenly telling this boy?

However her fear was short lived as Bliant's face lit up with delight and he immediately sat down next to her, talking animatedly about magic. She felt tears form in her eyes that this young boy had been driven from his home, and probably his family, for something he couldn't help, something that should be seen as a gift not a curse. But he brought her out of her grief, asking to see her do magic. She smiled softly at the boy and turned to the flames.

"_Gemyndblíþe_."

Her eyes flashed gold as the flames grew brighter and started twining together forming pictures in the fire. Fields of flowers, mountains covered in snow and Camelot. Bliant gasped as the castle appeared in the flames.

"Where is that?" He asked breathlessly.

"That is Camelot." She said with a smile.

The smile of awe slipped from Bliant's face at her words to be replaced with sadness.

"That is where king Uther lives isn't it?" He asked, though he already knew the answer, "He killed my family." The dark haired boy whispered sadly.

Anger coursed through Isabelle at this news. She wanted to kill Uther for the suffering he had caused this boy but she knew it wouldn't solve anything. Her heart panged at the look on Bliant's face. She wanted to gather him into her arms and keep him safe from the suffering of the world, but she knew that would be futile as he had already suffered more than any child should. Instead she wrapped one arm round his shoulders and hugged him.

"Yes it is where king Uther lives." She said sadly.

She wracked her mind for a way to cheer him up. An idea hit her suddenly and she smiled at the young boy.

"Do you want to hear a story?" She asked nervously.

Bliant's eyes lit up again with delight and he nodded excitedly.

"One day there is going to be a great king who lives in Camelot. His name will be King Arthur and he is going to be the greatest king the country has ever seen. He will restore magic to the land and unite all of Albion under his rule. He, along with his friend Merlin..."

"Is that Emrys?" Bliant asked, interrupting her.

Isabelle didn't quite understand why the druids were calling Merlin Emrys but from the conversation between Azaria and Idris she had eavesdropped on, they knew about his magic and the powerful sorcerer he was going to become.

"Yes that is Emrys. They will be the greatest king and sorcerer in the whole world and will restore peace to the land. They will make magic legal again and the streets of Camelot will be filled with magic and joy and it will be the happiest place in the world."

Isabelle finished and saw Bliant's eyes shining with delight.

"Will it really be like that?" He asked hopefully.

"Of course." Isabelle replied, she didn't have the heart to tell him anything else, "When Arthur is king he would make sure no one is ever hunted for having magic."

"Does that mean I could live in Camelot?" The little boy asked, his shining eyes turning back to the flames where the picture of Camelot was still glowing.

"You could live wherever you liked."

"Could I come live with you?" He asked shyly.

Isabelle looked at Bliant shocked. He was looking back at her, his face full of hope.

"But what about the druids?" She asked, surely he wanted to stay with the people who had taken him in.

"Some of them are okay but Idris shouts a lot of the time and is always saying how we need to destroy king Uther and Camelot. He scares me when he talks about that." Bliant said timidly and Isabelle felt her dislike for Idris grow.

"Then of course you can come stay with me in the castle."

The little boy threw his arms around the surprised Isabelle who hugged him back, feeling her heart swell with happiness. He pulled back and smiled shyly up at her. She smiled back at him and spoke once more.

"I know, why don't you show me some of your magic?"

x-x-x

Arthur, having left the clearing, was in the forest getting some sword practice. He was going over drill after drill just as he would have been doing with his knights back in Camelot. He was so absorbed in his training that he didn't realise he'd attracted an audience. Coming to the end of the drill he'd been practicing he pushed his hair back from his sweaty forehead breathing heavily. He suddenly became aware of noises behind him; shuffling of feet and whispered voices. He turned round to see a small group of children behind him watching his every move.

He frowned at them, unsure as to what they were doing. They seemed to be having some sort of whispered argument between them. Arthur leant on his sword and watched them curiously. He wondered whether they were waiting for him to speak but not ever having been around children much, even when he was a child himself he had been surrounded by adults with the exception of Morgana and Isabelle, he didn't know what he was supposed to do.

Eventually the taller boy near the front stepped forward slightly and spoke.

"Can you teach us how to do that?" He asked hesitantly.

Arthur was taken aback by his words. That was the last thing he'd been expecting then to ask. He cast his eyes over the group of eager boys and girls. There was about eight or so of them and none of them could have been anymore than thirteen. They were all looking at him expectantly. He didn't know how to play with children but teaching sword craft, that he could do.

"You want to know how to use a sword?" He asked

The whole group nodded hopefully at him. He briefly considered that it probably wasn't the best idea to teach the young druids how to fight but he couldn't bring himself to destroy the hope on their faces.

"Go find a stick to practice with then get into pairs."

With a squeal of delight the children scattered to find a stick to use as a sword.

This is where Isabelle and Bliant found him hours later, teaching those he had been brought up to hate to fight. The two of them had been swapping spells; mainly healing spells as it turned out that was Bliant's speciality as well as Isabelle's. They had eventually decided that they should probably go find Arthur and make sure he wasn't getting himself into trouble.

Bliant had rushed to join in, after a quick glance at Isabelle for permission, the moment they had come into view. Isabelle leant against a tree watching Arthur drilling the children on the different sword positions. She smiled at the looks of complete concentration on their faces. Spotting Bliant arrive Arthur looked up and saw Isabelle watching them. Shouting words of encouragement he moved over to where Isabelle was stood and watched the young children practicing proudly.

"Good aren't they?" Arthur said and Isabelle could hear the pride in his voice.

"Yeah they are. It looks like you could have some of your future knights here." Isabelle replied.

"Knights have to come from noble families, it's the law, you know that Isabelle."

"Laws can be changed." She said simply.

Arthur pondered this thought as he watched the children practicing. Some of them definitely had potential to be knights had they been born under any other circumstance. Especially Gliglious, who had first spoken, he had been working harder than any of the others, even helping the younger children who had been struggling at first. He remembered Lancelot who hadn't been a noble but had shown more promise than most nobles he trained. His thoughts were interrupted as Isabelle spoke once again.

"Though I am surprised to see you training the future generation of magic users in combat. If you're going to follow your father's policies then you're teaching your future enemies how to destroy you." She said with a small smile.

Arthur flushed slightly at this.

"Well they asked and they looked at me with those sad puppy dog eyes you've perfected over the years. I just couldn't say no." He surveyed the children in front of him sadly, "Anyway these children are so innocent, they can't really be as bad as father says. Maybe his views on magic users aren't right."

Isabelle laughed at Arthur's inability to say no to the children's pleas. However inwardly her heart was souring. If Arthur truly believed his father was wrong then maybe the future she had told Bliant about could actually happen.

"Your children are going to be so spoilt." She laughed.

The she remembered the look Bliant had given her which had made her reveal her magic, tell him he could come live with her in Camelot and teach him new spells.

"Then again that look is hard to resist." She said making Arthur laugh this time.

They watched the children practicing for a while. Arthur noticed they were looking tired and some of them were struggling to lift their makeshift swords. He felt guilty as he realised how long they'd been practicing for. He had almost forgotten they were only children and so couldn't keep going as long as he was used to. He was proud of their determination though, as not one of them had complained once and they were still practicing even though he knew their muscles were probably aching.

"Okay people, take a break." He called.

Isabelle laughed as half of them collapsed on the ground in exhaustion at his words. She gave them a moment to recover before speaking.

"Come on guys, we'd better get back to camp or Idris is going to be mad we kept you out late."

"No he won't." One girl said, struggling to her feet, "He doesn't care what we do as long as we're not in his way."

Isabelle frowned at this news. Idris hadn't seemed the type of guy to be good with children but she'd thought he'd at least care what happened to them. The look on the girl's face nearly broke her heart and she resolved that these children were going to have some love in their lives, even if it was only for one night.

"Well I care." She said resolutely, surprising the children, "And I wouldn't want you to be eaten by wolves." She said tickling the girl at the same time.

She took the girl's hand as Bliant took Isabelle's other one and pulled her towards the camp. She ran after the excited little boy, unsure what had gotten him so excitable. Arthur's hands were grabbed by two children, one of whom was Gliglious.

They arrived back in camp and Bliant pulled Isabelle towards one of the unoccupied fires. She sat down on the log beside it, frowning at Bliant confused. Arthur was soon dragged over to join them and the children settled around the rest of the fire, looking at her expectantly. Isabelle wasn't sure what they were waiting for until Bliant spoke.

"Will you tell them the story you told me?" He asked shyly.

Isabelle smiled at him as she realised what they were waiting for. Arthur looked at her questioningly and she smiled at him reassuringly before turning back to the children.

"One day there is going to be a great king who lives in Camelot. His name will be King Arthur..."


	13. Chapter 13

**So I suck at updating, I'm really sorry. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, please keep it up, and to Roses-as-lips for the beta. Here's the first of the long awaited trials. Italics are spells and bold italics are thoughts or mental communication, that should make more sense as you read it. Enjoy. x**

* * *

Chapter 13

How is he?" Morgana asked as she hurried into the room.

Gaius looked up from where he had been tending to Merlin and watched Morgana flow into the room and seat herself on the other side of Merlin. She didn't look like she'd slept much recently and Gaius feared it wasn't her nightmares keeping her awake this time.

"Well he's not any worse, that's a comfort at least." Gaius said gravely, "But his fever is still high and he's been tossing and turning all night. It's strange, when he's not screaming in agony he's muttering something about Arthur and Isabelle; it almost sounds like a warning."

They both looked at the fragile boy between them. He looked so delicate against the pale bedding. He was fidgeting in his sleep, his eyes screwed tight shut. He seemed to be whispering something. Morgana bent her head closer to try and hear what he was saying.

"Arthur the sword, grab the sword." He muttered hoarsely, his voice weak from shouting, "Stop being a prat and just take the sword, you can stop the trials!"

Morgana could hear the frustration and despair in his voice and was worried about how real he seemed to feel his nightmare was. However she was glad he had quietened down as almost as soon as Arthur and Isabelle had left he had been screaming at the top of his voice about the idiots risking their lives unnecessarily. He had been so loud that Uther had sent some guards down to see what the noise was.

He wouldn't come himself though, she thought bitterly, no he thought he was far too important for petty jobs like that. He had spent the past five days fuming about Arthur's disobedience and insolence and how that girl had corrupted him. Morgana wasn't really worried though, he was all talk. As soon as they got back Arthur would return to being the golden boy and Uther would continue his plans to marry him to Isabelle. Plans he thought no one but he knew about. But Morgana knew lots of things Uther didn't realise she knew, things that would come in handy if she met the right person; a person who wanted to help her bring down Uther.

She turned back to Merlin, her gaze filled with worry, and saw the look of pain on his face. Gaius had told her that the poison caused ten days of agony and then death on the final day. Half his time had gone and Morgana prayed that Arthur and Isabelle had found the druids and were well on their way to getting the antidote and would be home safely soon.

x-x-x

Isabelle opened her eyes groggily and surveyed her surroundings. It took her a while to get her bearings but eventually she remembered that she was in a tent in the druid's camp.

She sat up wearily and glanced over to see that Arthur's bedroll was deserted. She had been slightly annoyed when she discovered the druids had only supplied one tent for both her and Arthur to share. However by that point she was too tired to care enough to make a fuss. She had been kept awake telling stories to the attentive children about King Arthur and his sorcerer. She had made sure to call Merlin Emyrs throughout as Arthur was listening and she didn't think that was the best way for him to discover his manservant's magic.

As the evening had worn on many of the adults had stopped to listen to her stories as well. Towards the end, her imagination started to fail her, and the stories became more and more ridiculous. But the druids drank them up greedily, eager to hear of a time when magic wasn't forbidden.

The only person who seemed openly opposed to her stories was Idris. He had sat by a fire on the other side of the camp, glaring at her growing audience. Isabelle had presumed he was used to having all the attention upon himself and didn't like the fact he wasn't the main focus anymore. On reflection, Isabelle realised that he had probably been planning the trials and they should have been trying to appease him rather than antagonising him so he didn't make the trials too impossible.

The trials! Isabelle scrambled out of her bedroll as she remembered what was to come that day. Foreboding filled her as she remembered Azaria's prophecy of the day before. According to it she was either going to die before they got back to Camelot or end up marrying Arthur. She still hadn't really come to terms with what that meant for her but she presumed that her death, unless she managed to avoid it, was going to come in the trials. She only hoped Arthur would manage to complete them without her and save Merlin. She stretched her aching muscles as a figure entered the tent.

Arthur strode in to see that Isabelle had clearly just got out of bed and wasn't at all ready for the trials.

"Isabelle!" He exclaimed, "You can't seriously just be up? They want to start the trials now, everyone's waiting for you."

Rolling her eyes at him she yawned and debated whether she could go back to bed and pretend this was all a bad dream. Arthur stood in the doorway of the tent, arms folded, glaring at her. She groaned at the cold spring day and realised she was still in her nightclothes. She turned to face Arthur expectantly.

"Give us a minute and I'll be right there."

Arthur mumbled darkly under his breath and tapped his foot impatiently. Isabelle looked at him with a small frown of confusion.

"What?" He asked noticing her expression.

"Well I'm not going out dressed like this and I'm not getting changed in front of you so you're going to have to leave."

Arthur sighed in frustration and stormed out of the tent leaving Isabelle to get ready. She shook her head at his impatience and started to get dressed. She pulled on breeches and the closest shirt she could find, ignoring Arthur's impatient sighs from outside the tent. She frowned as her long hair got in her way once again. Normally she loved her hair long but she didn't think it would really be practical for the trials. Moving over to Arthur's side of the tent she undid the tie that was holding his pack closed and used in as a makeshift tie for her hair. Hopefully she'd be able to put it back before Arthur noticed as she knew how protective he was over his stuff.

She exited the tent and almost collided with his pacing form. Reaching out to steady herself she glared up at him, annoyed that he was being such a prat. Her anger ebbed away as she saw the worried look in his eyes. She smiled at him reassuringly and placed a comforting hand on his arm.

"It's going to be fine. Come on, we don't want to be late."

Arthur led her over to where a small group of druids were gathered. Arthur recognised Idris and Azaria, who were flanked by a couple more druids. Isabelle frowned at the small number of the group. The camp seemed to be deserted and she wondered where the rest of the druids had gone.

"It is your friend's fifth day. You must successfully complete the trials today if you are to stand any chance of getting back in time. Azaria said quietly as the two nobles reached the group.

Idris rolled his eyes at her words and turned to the pair grumpily. His eyes narrowed as a small figure appeared at Isabelle's side. She glanced down and saw Bliant stood next to her. She ruffled his hair fondly then turned back to Idris with a defiant look in her eyes. His disapproval was obvious but he chose not to comment, instead he started to explain the trials.

"There are three trials you have to complete to prove you are worthy to claim the antidote." Idris explained coldly, "Normally the trials are only completed by one person but as you insisted on staying together..." His anger at this was clear, "...we have had to adapt them. One of you will be actively participating in the trials while the other guides them."

"I will participate." Arthur said gallantly stepping forward.

"Wait a minute." Isabelle protested, "Aren't we even going to discuss this?"

"What is there to discuss?" Arthur asked confused.

"You don't know what these trials are, they might be dangerous."

"Exactly, that's why I'm doing them."

"Why? Because you're a man?" Isabelle exploded, "I am just as capable as you are!"

"No because I am a knight and it wouldn't be honourable for me to sit back while you put yourself in danger." Arthur explained as if he was talking to a small child.

"You and your stupid honour!" Isabelle exclaimed exasperated, "Arthur you're the heir to the throne, if you die who's going to rule Camelot after Uther?"

"Morgana can." Arthur said stubbornly.

"Yeah I'm sure that would go down well with Uther." Isabelle scoffed.

"Isabelle I'm doing this and nothing you can say will change that." Arthur said cutting off Isabelle's next comment.

Isabelle threw up her arms in defeat knowing she wasn't going to change his mind. She caught Idris watching them with an amused expression and glared at him. Frustratingly he just chuckled and turned to Arthur.

"So the prince is willing to risk his life for his lady, how noble." He said tauntingly.

"I am not his lady, how many times do I have to say it?" Isabelle complained.

The others ignored her and Idris pulled a long strip of fabric from his belt. Handing it to the man next to him he spoke.

"Blindfold him."

Arthur only had time to glimpse Idris' smug expression before everything went dark as the material was placed over his eyes.

"Hey!" He protested, "How am I supposed to do the trial if I can't see?"

"Isabelle will be your eyes. She will guide you through the trials."

Arthur heard Azaria's musical voice and realised this was what it must be like for her all the time.

"Wait you mean I have to tell him what to do?" Isabelle asked, "Great we're really screwed, he never listens to me."

Arthur pulled a face at the direction he thought her voice had come from. The giggle that followed this told him that he must have misjudged her position. Before he could speak his arm was grabbed and he was roughly pulled towards what he presumed was the direction of the clearing. He tensed; worried that Idris had just blindfolded him so they could get rid of him while he was vulnerable. He relaxed as he heard footsteps move with him and felt Isabelle slip her hand into his.

Isabelle followed the group, making sure to keep close to Arthur as she wouldn't put it past Idris to hurt him while he was defenceless. They entered a smaller clearing and Isabelle discovered where the rest of the druids were. All around the edge of the clearing the druids were stood waiting to watch the trials, anticipation filled the clearing.

That was not what drew Isabelle's gaze however, she let out a gasp as she saw what was in the clearing. To their left was a path of hot coals. Isabelle felt despair wash over her as she worked out what was coming. She glanced over at Idris and saw the triumphant smile on his face. She could see the dilemma he had forced upon her; she could either leave Arthur to suffer or reveal her magic to protect him.

_**Why couldn't you have just let me do this Arthur?**_

She turned to look at him and saw his forehead wrinkle with concern.

"What is it?" Arthur asked, Isabelle's gasp filling him with apprehension.

"Nothing, nothing." She replied distractedly.

Arthur wasn't convinced but without his sight he didn't have any evidence to the contrary. The direction he was being dragged abruptly changed so they were moving towards the left rather than straight forward. It seemed to him that the temperature increased the more to the left they moved and by the time they stopped Arthur was sweating in the stifling heat.

He felt the hand let go of his arm and had to prevent himself from falling at the sudden loss of balance. Moments after, he felt Isabelle's hand leave his as well. Arthur was now totally alone, sightless and defenceless. He felt an overwhelming feeling of isolation as he realised how much he relied on his sight and how he was pretty much useless without it.

Isabelle briefly squeezed Arthur's shoulder before moving over to where Idris indicated she should stand. She saw them position Arthur at one end of the bed of burning hot coals. She guessed it was about a hundred metres in length and Idris' next words confirmed what she had feared from the moment she'd laid eyes on it.

"The first trial is trust. You must have absolute trust in each other. Put your life in the other's hands you could say."

Isabelle could see that Idris was plainly enjoying this and looking forward to the rest. He turned to Isabelle and spoke to her quietly so that Arthur couldn't hear.

"This trial is easy. All he has to do is make it to the end of the coals and you pass."

"Yeah real easy." She muttered sarcastically before turning back to Arthur.

Seeing him stood there alone her heart swelled with pride at how defiant he looked. She wracked her brains, running through every spell she could think of, trying to find one that would protect Arthur. She sighed in frustration as she was drawing a blank. She could heal his burns after he'd walked across in the blink of an eye but she didn't think Arthur would make it that far, and he definitely wouldn't be too pleased if he did.

She felt a small hand slip into hers and a tug in her mind. She looked down to see Bliant and smiled at him. She felt something flash between them and heard his voice in her mind, and her smile widened as she realised what he had just told her.

_**That should help.**_ He thought to her softly.

_**You're a genius do you know that?**_

The little boy's face lit up, proud for having come up with a solution. Isabelle turned her attention back to Arthur and whispered softly under her breath.

"_Bescyldian áscildan._"

Nothing happened. She knew the spell was right as she had felt the familiar tug of her magic but it had done nothing to help Arthur. She frowned confused as to what was stopping it when Idris' words had come back to her. She realised that before she could do anything to help Arthur he had to have complete trust in her.

"Arthur, do you trust me?" She asked hesitantly.

She prayed that Arthur was in a forgiving mood as she knew that experience had taught Arthur not to trust her a long time ago.

"Didn't we go through this yesterday Isabelle? Of course I don't." He replied.

"Well that kind of defies the whole point of this trial Arthur?" She explained patiently.

Arthur paused for a moment, pondering this. He was distracted from this as he felt the heat emanating from the object in front of him. He could feel himself sweating profusely. The air was stifling and Arthur's brain seemed to have stopped functioning. He knew that the heat was probably magical as it was a huge contrast to the cool spring day. Suddenly something clicked in Arthur's mind and he backed away slowly.

"Isabelle if I say I trust you am I going to have to move forward?" He asked apprehensively.

"Yes." Isabelle replied slowly, unsure where Arthur was going with it.

"And what would I be walking on?" Arthur asked sweetly.

"The grass, what else?" Isabelle said innocently.

Inside her heart was sinking. She knew Arthur had worked it out and there was no way he was going to do it now.

"Isabelle, don't lie to me." Arthur growled.

"Well it's nothing that will hurt you if you trust me and do exactly as I say."

"Somehow coming from you that doesn't fill me with confidence."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Isabelle asked outraged.

"Hmm let me think. Well how about that time we got our ball stuck in the trees and you told me if I did exactly what you said I'd be able to reach it and I ended up with a broken arm and two cracked ribs after I fell out of the tree. Or the time you told me to trust you that we'd be able to swing across the river by your castle and I fell in, nearly drowned and ended up smelling like fish for weeks. Or that time..."

"Okay I get the picture. I know my plans don't always go right but I'm not a kid anymore Arthur, I know what I'm doing." Isabelle pleaded.

She took his silence to mean that he still wasn't convinced.

"Man you know how to hold a grudge." She sighed, "Arthur I really need you to believe in me right now, for Merlin."

Arthur's resolve wavered at the mention of his manservant. Merlin was the reason they were there and he needed to put away his hurt pride and focus on what they were here to achieve. He sighed as something clicked in his mind. He knew Isabelle was right and they needed to trust each other for this trial. And he realised he did, he always had. That was the reason that time and time again he had found himself in trouble because of her plans. He had been brought up not to trust anyone but he couldn't help but feel that he would trust Isabelle with his life, despite the evidence that that was a really bad idea. He groaned, hating that Isabelle was going to win the argument.

"Fine." He replied sulkily.

"What?" Isabelle asked shocked.

She had been planning more ways to try and persuade him she was right and wasn't expecting him to cave so easily.

"You're right." He took a deep breath before he spoke again, "I do trust you."

Isabelle felt something rush through her as the wall that had been blocking her magic disappeared and she knew that this time her spell would be successful.

"_Bescyldian áscildan._" She whispered.

She made sure to keep her voice down so that Arthur couldn't hear what she was saying. Her eyes flashed gold as she felt her magic flowing out of her. The air around Arthur's feet glowed silver for a moment then died away. However Isabelle could still see a faint silver tinge to the air around his feet which followed them as Arthur staggered backwards.

Arthur felt a strange tingling sensation in his feet. He frowned as it grew. It was almost like the feeling you get just before pins and needles but Arthur knew it wasn't that. He staggered slightly as the feeling increased until it became unbearable. However as soon as it had appeared the sensation died away till all that was left was a slight numbing sensation in his feet.

"Isabelle?" He asked cautiously, knowing that if it was causing him discomfort, she was probably behind it.

The thought that it was magic never crossed his mind despite the fact that he was surrounded by sorcerers.

"Don't worry its fine. I need you to walk forward until I tell to stop." Arthur thought her voice sounded slightly strained but he pushed that thought aside and focused on the task in hand.

He took a tentative step forward and felt his feet grow warm as they landed on a slightly raised surface. The heat was not uncomfortable like Arthur had been expecting, in fact it was quite pleasant. However as he moved forward the heat seemed grow. He wiped his brow and felt sweat running down the back of his neck.

He was about halfway across when, what had started as pleasant warmth, became a scorching heat. Arthur stumbled on the uneven surface as he felt the ground beneath his feet grow scalding hot. He winced as pain shot through his feet.

"Isabelle what's going on?" He called frantically.

Isabelle had shut her eyes to concentrate on her spell but they snapped open at his words. She could see that the heat was becoming more and more unbearable and that Arthur was struggling to cope. She cast her gaze over the coals to see what was causing the sudden increase in heat. Nothing had changed in her spell but someone was increasing the temperature of the coals. She could see a deep red magic lasing through the coals, causing the unnatural increase in heat.

She cast her eyes round the clearing to find the source of the magic. Her eyes found Idris and she was surprised she hadn't realised it was him earlier. He was whispering under his breath, his face triumphant and his eyes blazing gold. He seemed to sense she was looking up at him and his eyes flicked up to meet hers. From his expression she could tell what he wanted. He wanted her to openly reveal her magic to the prince whilst trying to save him or for Arthur to die during the trial. And she wasn't sure he was picky either way.

Focusing back on Arthur she pushed all of her magic into the spell, gritting her teeth to keep her concentration. Arthur's whole body was now glowing with her silver magic but he was still struggling with the heat. She briefly glanced at Idris and knew she was losing their silent battle. She had always been able to recognise those with magic from those without. This was how she'd been able to tell Merlin had magic without any evidence to back it up.

Once her magic had begun to develop she had discovered she was able to see the magic inside people as a pool of energy, allowing her to see how much power they possessed. When she was younger she had thought it was a skill all sorcerer's had but as she had grown she had realised that it was a skill unique to her and it was best for her to keep it secret.

Idris' magic was red and fiery, filled with the passion and rage that had made him the leader he was. She could also see that his strengths lay with fire which, she presumed, was why their first trial involved hot coals. Bliant's magic had been a cool pale green, reflecting the love for healing he had shown the day before. Merlin's however had been a radiant gold and she'd had to shield her eyes from being dazzled by the enormous amount of pure power that shone out of him. The gold was tinged with Pendragon red, showing how their futures were intertwined and the great destiny that he and Arthur were to complete. That is if I don't ruin it, she thought remembering Azaria's prophecy from the day before.

Looking at Idris she could see his fiery magic glowing inside him and knew that he was the most powerful sorcerer in the clearing. Her magic wasn't insubstantial, she had more power than over half the druids in the clearing, but it was no match for Idris'. She had only ever met two people with more magic than him. Merlin outflanked him without a doubt. And the other, she shuddered at the memory of the woman whose face had been burnt into her nightmares since she was fourteen.

She felt her focus waver and pushed the traumatising memories aside as she felt Bliant tug on her hand. However she was using all her concentration to give Arthur the small amount of relief she could manage against the inferno of heat and so she ignored him. Moments later he tugged on her hand again and this time the tug was accompanied by a ball of magic which moved through her, helping to fuel the spell. She glanced down at the young boy in shock to see his innocent face smiling up at her.

_**How did you..? **_She spluttered through the connection he had established earlier.

Bliant didn't reply. Instead she saw him focus on the green pool of energy inside him. She gasped as she saw his magic flow through him to where their hands were clasped and travel through her, adding to her magic and strengthening the spell. Her face lit up as she realised what the young boy was doing.

Turning back to Arthur she concentrated both hers and Bliant's magic into the spell. She hissed at the level of control it was taking her to focus the vast amount of power she now had at her command. She allowed herself a quick glance at Idris and was satisfied to see the frustrated look of a man who knew he'd been beaten.

Arthur's head had been spinning and he had been struggling to breathe in the intense heat when it had suddenly cooled. He gasped, drawing in large mouthfuls off the cool air. He felt the fresh air around him cooling his body and relaxed slightly. He turned his head; looking round even though he couldn't see anything except the blackness of his blindfold.

"What just happened?" He asked puzzled, "Isabelle?"

Isabelle had closed her eyes again to help focus the energy pulsing through her. She could feel the strain that the spell was taking on her despite Bliant's magic backing hers. However at Arthur's words her eyes flashed open and she saw that he was stood still in the middle of the coals glancing round bemused. She ground her teeth and only just restrained herself from stalking over to him and hitting him, hard.

"For god's sake Arthur, just keep moving!" She all but shouted.

The urgency in her voice was clear and Arthur continued on, faster this time, not really wanting to face her anger, she could be worse than Morgana if she put her mind to it. He had also sensed the strain in her voice, stronger than before, which worried him slightly.

He felt the uneven ground beneath him give way to soft grass and smiled in relief as he realised he had reached the end. He hesitated, unsure what he was supposed to do next. However Idris' voice cut through the silence.

"Congratulations you have completed your first trial." He said coldly, his displeasure was clear.

Isabelle, who once again had her eyes screwed tight shut, looked up and saw Arthur was clear of the coals. She released the spell and staggered as a wave of exhaustion washed over her. She knew that she was almost at the end of her magic reserves and prayed the next trial wasn't going to be too strenuous. Somehow she doubted her wish was going to come true.

She started to make her way over to Arthur when she felt Bliant tug on her hand, keeping her where she was. She frowned and was about to protest when she saw the insistent look on his face.

Glancing back at Arthur and Idris she spotted a tall broad man draw his sword and make his way towards the pair.


	14. Chapter 14

**Here's the second trial. As previously Italics are spells and bold italics are mental communication. Thanks for everyone's great review****s and to everyone else who has been reading. Also I am forever in Roses-as-lips debt for her beta. Enjoy and please review. x**

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Chapter 14

"The next trial will be a test of your talents." Idris said. He turned to face Arthur, "You claim to have been trained to kill since birth, well it's time those skills were put to the test."

Arthur reached up to pull the blindfold off but Idris caught his wrist, preventing him from removing it.

"This is a true test of your talent, you must remain blindfolded."

"But how am I supposed to fight if I can't see?" Arthur protested.

"I'm sure you'll think of something." Idris said looking pointedly at Isabelle.

He released Arthur and backed away a couple of paces. Isabelle saw the broad man with the sword move towards Arthur and she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. Idris was clearly expecting her to do something but she didn't have a clue what. Her mind scrambled round for a solution but before she could find one Idris spoke.

"The trial starts now."

The large man lifted his sword and swung it at Arthur viciously, clearly expecting an easy win.

"Arthur duck!" Isabelle screamed at him, running forward.

Arthur sensed the urgency in Isabelle's voice and his training took over. He dropped to the ground, cushioning his fall on his hands. Knowing what his next move would be if he was in the other man's position he rolled to the side just as a sword thumped into the ground where he had just been.

Isabelle ran forward as Arthur dropped to the floor. She didn't know what she was going to do but she knew she had to help Arthur. However before she reached him Idris grabbed hold of her, preventing her from moving any closer. She struggled in his grip as Arthur rolled to avoid the blow.

"Get off me!" She cried as she struggled.

She tried to break free of Idris' grip but he was too strong. She felt the intrusion in her mind and started to push him out. However his voice echoed through her mind, making her pause.

_**If you go to him you forfeit the trial, you won't get the antidote. **_

Isabelle stopped struggling as the truth of Idris' words sunk in. Satisfied that she wasn't going to run forward again Idris loosened his grip on her. She frowned as he kept one hand clamped on her arm but as his voice spoke in her head again she understood.

_**You need contact to maintain the connection unless the two people are particularly close.**_

Idris looked at her meaningfully as the words reverberated through her skull however Isabelle didn't understand the importance of his words. She glanced over at Arthur to see him still on the ground, avoiding the other man's blows.

_**I have to help him! **_She thought back frantically.

_**You can. Remember what I told you at the start; you are to be his eyes.**_

Isabelle saw that Arthur had raised himself off the ground and was crouching, preparing to move. The tall man swung at him once again.

"Look out!" Isabelle cried as Arthur jumped backwards to avoid the blow.

"Gee Isabelle, real helpful. I'd have never thought of that!" Arthur shouted back sarcastically.

He drew his sword and held it out in front of him. Opening all his other senses he tried to sense anything that would help him tell where the other man was.

_**You need to have faith in his skills. He has been trained to fight since he was a child. He would have to prepare for situations like this. He may just need help applying those skills. **_

Arthur was getting more and more frustrated. He had always taught his knights that if you cannot use your eyes in a battle then you should open your other senses to hear your opponent. However all he could hear was the cheers and cries of the druids around them. He only just heard the whistle of a blade through the air in time to raise his sword and block it.

"It's too damn loud." He muttered angrily.

Suddenly the sounds of the druids died away and Arthur feared for a moment that he had gone deaf. However he heard the unmistakable crunch of grass to his left and knew that his opponent was circling him.

"Better?" Isabelle called.

"Yeah, but how?" Arthur asked confused.

"Never mind that." Isabelle brushed aside, "To your left."

Arthur swung his sword up to protect his left side and felt the other man's blade make contact with his. He knew he could parry blow like this but he was never going to win as he couldn't attack without seeing his opponent's weaknesses.

_**Communicating telepathically is an interesting thing. **_Idris mused in Isabelle's mind as if he was talking to himself, _**You can share images, scenes or even what you are seeing at this very moment with the other person. And it is said that if two people have, say known each since they were born and grown up together, then it is not necessary for both parties to be in possession of magic. **_

Isabelle stared at Idris who was watching the fight with a neutral expression on his face. Her mind was reeling with what he'd just told her. She now knew how she could help Arthur but she didn't understand Idris' motives for telling her this.

_**Why are you helping us?**_

_**Because you were right. We need Emyrs. And Emyrs can't help us unless you get the antidote. And to do that he... **_Idris jerked his head towards Arthur, _**...needs to complete the trials. And according to Azaria we can't restore magic to Camelot without both the prince and Emyrs so his death isn't going to benefit anyone.**_

_**But you just spent the last trial trying to kill him. **_Isabelle pointed out incredulous.

_**I wasn't trying to kill him; I was trying to get you to reveal your magic. If he finds out that the girl he's known his whole life has magic and isn't evil then he might start to realise that his father's views on magic are wrong and that magic in itself is not evil.**_

_**He does know that. Or, well he's starting to realise it. And I will tell him about my magic just not now, not like this. **_

Isabelle pulled her arm out of Idris' grasp, breaking the connection. She focused on Arthur and the druid who were circling each other carefully. Every now and again the man would swing at Arthur who would just manage to parry the blows and then they would return to circling.

She focused on the severely diminished pool of magic inside of her, reaching it out towards Arthur. She wasn't sure how this was supposed to work having never done it before. She felt Arthur's presence in the clearing and hesitated, worried about the effects this would have on him. She pushed the fears aside, knowing that if she didn't do this it would probably have much worse consequences for him.

She reached her magic towards his presence and felt it connect. The sensation was distinctly different to the feeling she'd had when she'd done this with Bliant and Idris. She felt her consciousness slide into his and she was suddenly over whelmed by his thoughts. She realised that, though she told Idris she wasn't ready to reveal her magic to Arthur, he'd have to be a complete idiot not to realise it now.

_**Arthur? **_She asked tentatively.

_**Isabelle, what the hell is happening?**_

She heard Arthur's puzzled reply in her mind and beamed to herself, pleased it had worked.

_**Um...I don't know. **_Isabelle replied, not really expecting Arthur to believe her.

Shock resonated through her as Arthur seemed to accept her words and turn back to the fight. And he calls Merlin an idiot, she thought with a smile. She could feel Arthur's emotions through the connection she'd just established. She could feel the strain the battle was talking on him and that he was still feeling shaky after the first trial. She felt a slight nudge and realised that Arthur was half-heartedly trying to push her out. However he was so focused on the battle that his attempts weren't really working.

_**No offence Isabelle but I'm trying to concentrate and you prying through my mind is a little distracting.**_

Isabelle jumped as she remembered why she had forged the connection in the first place. She gazed intently at the fighting pair and tried to project what she was seeing into Arthur's mind. Her first few attempts were a failure and she sighed frustrated, wishing she knew more about magic. Having spent most of her life keeping it hidden she hadn't really had a chance to learn much about magic and she was severely regretting it now. Having insisted that Arthur let her come, convinced he needed her to replace Merlin as his magical protector, she had failed to come up with a solution to help Arthur in either trial and had needed outside help. And now she was even failing to use the help she'd been given. She sighed angrily as the images she was trying to place into Arthur's mind still refused to travel along the connection she had forged.

Come on Isabelle, she thought to herself, even Bliant can do this and he's only ten. She once again cursed her upbringing for isolating her from the magical community. She had learnt the wide range of healing spells she knew from a local hedge witch but she didn't know anything about communicating with other sorcerers, or even those without magic. She hadn't even thought it was possible without extensive preparation on both sides until Bliant had linked with her during the first trial.

She took a deep calming breath, relaxing her body. She closed her eyes and instead of trying to push the images towards Arthur she concentrated on bringing Arthur's mind to hers. She imagined him feeling what she was feeling, hearing what she was hearing and seeing what he was seeing. She opened her eyes and knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she wasn't the only one seeing the scene before her.

Arthur froze as a scene blossomed in his mind. He could see the clearing they were standing in. His eyes widened in shock behind his blindfold as he realised that the two figures he could see in the middle of the clearing were him and the man he was fighting. His mind whirred as he tried to comprehend what was happening. This was definitely the work of magic but it seemed to be helping rather than hindering him. Arthur was finding himself more and more confused. The longer they were with the druids the more Arthur's views on magic were changing. His father had always taught him that magic could only be used for evil and therefore anyone possessing it was evil. But Arthur had seen the children innocently running around and he couldn't comprehend how anyone could think them evil. And now it seemed that someone was helping him and Isabelle complete the trial.

_**Arthur move!**_

He had momentarily forgotten where he was but Isabelle's cry in his mind had jolted him out of his thoughts. He saw the man swinging his sword at the image of himself and brought his sword up to block where the man's blade would hit. He was slightly perturbed to see the image of himself also bring his sword up. However he was distracted from this as he failed to raise his sword fast enough and pain lanced through his left arm as he felt the man's blade pierce his skin.

Isabelle gasped and grabbed her left arm as pain lanced through it. However upon inspection she realised that there was nothing visibly wrong with her arm, so why was she in such pain? She frowned as she searched for anything that would explain the shooting pain in her arm.

_**Isabelle is there a reason why I seem to be seeing your arm? **_

Isabelle jumped at Arthur's voice and looked back at the battle, remembering that she was supposed to be helping Arthur fight. She saw blood running down Arthur's arm and suddenly she understood why she was feeling the pain in her arm.

_**Am I seeing what you're seeing? **_Arthur asked curiously.

_**It would appear so. **_Isabelle replied slowly.

_**Apparently we have some outside help. **_

Isabelle marvelled that Arthur still hadn't realised she was the one using magic. Though on reflection she remembered Merlin telling her about times he'd used magic in front of Arthur and he hadn't noticed. She smiled, it seemed that Arthur's denseness could pay off sometimes.

Arthur however had focused back on the battle. Now he could see what was happening he was finding it much easier to fight. He still found it weird that he could see himself moving at the same time he did, but he pushed past that and was pushing the druid back. He marvelled at the man's swordsmanship. He was holding his own against Arthur for much longer than most of his knights could. He decided that there might be something in what Isabelle had been saying yesterday about allowing ordinary people to become knights.

However the last trial had taken its toll on Arthur. His body was aching and the pain in his left arm seemed to be getting worse. Every swing of his sword was taking more and more effort and he could feel his weary muscles screaming in protest with every movement.

Spotting this the other man thrust his sword under Arthur's guard and knocked the sword out of his hand. Arthur stumbled backwards at the force of the blow. They had moved nearer the crowd of watching druids whilst they were fighting and as Arthur staggered backwards the crowd behind him parted, preventing him from crashing into them.

Backing away from the advancing man Arthur cast around for anything that could help him. His sword was too far away for him to grasp without putting himself within the other man's reach. Arthur cursed whatever notion that had made him decide not to bring another weapon to the trials. Sound suddenly overwhelmed him, as the druids voices, which had somehow died away during that fight, reappeared; after the calm silence, it was deafening. Above the noise however he could hear his heart pounding frantically and his blood rushing through his veins. Fear gripped him as he realised that, for the first time in his life, there was no way out; no one was coming to save him.

Isabelle struggled against Idris who had once again grabbed hold of her. She had seen Arthur drop his sword and had tried to run forward to help but Idris was holding her firmly in place. All she could do was watch in anguish as Arthur backed away from the advancing man. She had her own sword strapped around her waist but Arthur was too far away for her to throw it to him. She sobbed as emotion overwhelmed her and she felt the spell enclosing them in silence break. Suddenly the noise of the druids washed over her. The sound pressed in on her and she screamed in frustration and anger. She pushed against Idris again, adding her magic to her force, trying to get him to let go. However he held firm.

"He's not failed yet." Idris spoke into her ear, "Stop thinking with your emotions and try using your brain."

Isabelle shuddered as she felt Idris' clammy breath on her neck as he spoke. But she realised that he had been right before, maybe there was still hope. She tried to reach for her magic to do something, anything, but she was dried out. She was using the little she had left to maintain the connection with Arthur but she couldn't bring herself to break it.

Arthur heard Isabelle's scream above the din that was now pressing in on him and felt another wave of despair wash over him. He didn't know what the druids would do with her once he was dead. He hoped they would allow her to return to Camelot but her scream had sent fear for her coursing through him. And now he realised he wasn't going to be the only one to die; they had failed the trial so Merlin wasn't going to get the antidote. Arthur felt utterly defeated, it was only reflex that kept him backing away from the advancing sword.

"I'm sorry Merlin."

_**Behind you!**_

Isabelle's yell burst into his despair ridden mind. Arthur frowned, unsure what on earth she was going on about.

_**I'm more worried about what's in front of me Isabelle. **_He replied scathingly.

However the moment he thought this he felt the back of his leg collide with something sharp behind him. He knew that there must be some sort of stone behind him and realised that Isabelle must have been warning him that his exit was blocked. He closed his eyes behind the blindfold, preparing for the inevitable.

_**Arthur turn around and grab the sword! **_Isabelle screamed, _**Stop being a prat and just take the sword!**_

Arthur could have sworn he heard Merlin's voice combined with Isabelle's as she spoke the last sentence. This jolted him out of his depression and into action. He spun round and reached out, feeling the hilt of the sword behind him. He grabbed hold of it and felt energy radiate from it, shooting up his arm and through his body. He vaguely thought that he'd felt the sensation before but he couldn't place it. Pushing that aside he pulled the sword and felt it release smoothly. He didn't even think about why the sword was there or what it was being stored in.

Isabelle heard Idris' sharp intake of breath as Arthur pulled the sword free and felt his grip on her slacken as he froze, shocked. Isabelle staggered back as she felt the wave of energy that was now pouring from Arthur through the connection she had formed. Her eyes widened as she realised where the sword had come from, something she had missed when she had spotted it in the heat of the moment. However what made her gasp was what she saw when she cast her eyes round the clearing.

"Oh my god Arthur."

x-x-x

Morgana sighed in relief as Merlin stopped moving and relaxed. His cries had become increasingly louder and Morgana could have sworn she'd felt power emitting from the fragile boy when he had spoken last, even though the words had been frivolous cries to Arthur. But he had quietened and she was glad he finally seemed to be getting some rest.

Merlin smiled in his sleep as he saw Arthur and Isabelle in his mind's eye and was glad the prat had listened to him for once.


	15. Chapter 15

**Another chapter for you. This is once again continued from the chapter before so flick back if you can't remember what's just happened. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, I love you guys, and to Rose-as-lips for the beta, I couldn't do this without her. Enjoy. x**

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Chapter 15

Isabelle gazed around in shock, taking in the sudden change. Silence had befallen the clearing. As she gazed round, she saw that the druids had all sunk to the ground, kneeling with bowed heads as if to their king. The only people still standing were Idris next to her, Azaria some way to her left, her and Arthur who didn't have a clue what was going on as he was still blindfolded.

Slowly Isabelle moved towards Arthur, inspecting the looks of awe on the druids faces as she passed. She reached Arthur and hesitated, unsure what to do. A quick glance at Idris showed that he had no objection to what she was about to do, or was too stunned to register her intention. She figured that the trial was pretty much over anyway as the man Arthur had been fighting was now kneeling before him in a way that reminded her of knights bowing before their king preparing to be knighted.

Reaching up she pulled the blindfold off Arthur. He staggered slightly and screwed his eyes at the sudden burst of light. Gradually his eyes adjusted to his surroundings and he opened them, gazing round the clearing. His eyes widened as he took in the druids kneeling round the clearing.

"What's going on?" He asked bemused.

"I have no idea." She replied aloud having broken off their link now she knew he was out of danger.

She glanced at Arthur to see the look of confusion on his face. However she had known him long enough to see the fear and apprehension hidden behind it. She placed a comforting hand on his arm and saw him wince at her touch. She suddenly remembered the injury Arthur had gained in the fight. Now she had broken the bond the pain she had been feeling was gone but it was clear from the expression on Arthur's face that he still felt it.

Arthur tried to pull his arm out of her grip but she kept hold, running her fingers down to push the ripped material of his sleeve aside to reveal the wound. It was deep and Isabelle had seen enough battle wounds to know how easily it could be infected if left untreated. She glanced up at Arthur to see that he had resumed staring around the clearing. Turning back to Arthur's wound she pressed one hand to it and whispered:

"_Ágíeman."_

Arthur winced again and this time succeeded in pulling his arm out of her grip.

"That hurts Isabelle." He complained.

"It's barely a scratch, don't be such a baby." Isabelle replied mockingly.

Arthur inspected his arm and, sure enough, he found it was only a shallow wound. He frowned, sure that the cut had been deeper. The stabbing pain had faded away to a dull ache and Arthur glanced at Isabelle suspiciously.

She smiled innocently back at him. She hadn't had enough magic left to heal him fully but realised that if she had Arthur would probably be looking at her much more distrustfully. As it was he just shrugged and turned his attention to Idris and Azaria who were making their way over to them.

None of the druids had moved from their bow and it was starting to freak the two nobles out. What was worse was Idris, who stopped a couple of paces away from them and bowed low to Arthur.

"My Lord." He said respectfully as he straightened up.

Isabelle and Arthur stared at him incredulously. Idris had refused to accept Arthur had any authority when they had arrived and now he was bowing to him.

"That's more unsettling than any of the others." Arthur muttered to Isabelle who nodded in agreement.

"I thought you hated Arthur and all he stood for." Isabelle said confused, "So why is everyone now bowing to him? What's changed?"

Azaria, who was the only person who hadn't bowed to him, moved over to Arthur's side.

"May I?" She asked, indicating the sword.

Arthur started, having forgotten he was still holding it. He carefully handed it over to Azaria. The moment he let go of the sword he felt the energy that had been pulsing through him drain away and the weariness he had previously been feeling seeped back in.

"This sword is sacred to our people. It has been held fast since Uther banned magic from his realm." Azaria said cryptically.

"What do you mean held fast? It was really easy to pull free." Arthur asked confused.

Isabelle nudged Arthur and pointed in the direction that he had pulled the sword from. Arthur turned and gaped at what he saw. There was a large stone behind him. He recognised it as the rock he had seen the day before when he had been exploring the clearing. Except there had been a sword in the stone the day before which was noticeably absent now.

He turned back to the others shocked. They couldn't really be suggesting what he was thinking, could they?

"It is said that only the one who is to return magic to the kingdom can remove the sword from the stone. That they will go on to unite all of Albion under their rule and become a great and courageous ruler." Azaria continued.

"So no pressure then." Isabelle said wryly.

Arthur looked between the two druids stood before him. They couldn't really be implying that it was him who was to do this. Arthur knew he was going to be king of Camelot, and he'd always hoped to be a good king, but Azaria's words echoed round his head. He was to restore magic to Camelot? He still wasn't sure where he stood on the magic issue, he knew he didn't completely agree with his father's views however he had seen magic used for evil too many times not to be weary of it. As for uniting all of Albion, well that was impossible. There was always some war or another raging, despite his father's recent peace agreement. He shuddered as he remembered how he'd almost ruined it with the incident with Vivian and her father. But Arthur knew that despite the kingdoms' willingness for peace there was no way they would allow themselves to be united under one ruler, it was impossible.

"You can't be serious?" Arthur said incredulous, "I can't do all those things. I'm not the person you're looking for."

"You were the one to pull the sword from the stone, it is your destiny."

Isabelle was thinking to herself how sick she was of Azaria talking about destiny. When did their lives stop being theirs to control? Surely they should have some say in the matter.

"No." Arthur said stubbornly, shaking his head, "It must be faulty or something."

And with that he snatched the sword out of Azaria's hand and stalked over to the stone. Carefully he replaced the sword and turned to face the other three.

"Isabelle." He said, gesturing to the sword.

She rolled her eyes at him but moved forward anyway. She inspected the sword, which appeared to once again be stuck fast, warily. She glanced at Arthur, who was looking at her expectantly, then turned her attention back to the sword in the stone.

Taking a deep breath she took hold of the sword handle. She frowned as she felt nothing. She could sense the power emanating from the object and had expected the contact to send the energy through her as she had felt it do to Arthur, but she was getting nothing. She tugged gently at the sword, then harder, but it was stuck fast. She pulled once more, putting all of her energy into it, but it still refused to move. She let go and turned to look at the confused prince.

"It's no use." She said, "Face it Arthur, you're the only one who can do it."

Arthur still refused to believe it. Isabelle hadn't the training and muscles he had, maybe she just didn't have the strength. He ignored the small voice in the back of his mind that was telling him that the sword had come out at the lightest touch when he had tried, and cast his gaze around the clearing.

He stalked over to where the man he had been fighting was knelt and inspected him for the first time. He was tall and broad and was obviously built for fighting. Arthur could see the muscles hidden behind his tunic. Satisfied he grabbed the man's arm and pulled him to his feet. The man looked shocked but complied to Arthur's strong grip. Keeping hold Arthur pulled the man over to the stone.

"Try and pull it out." Arthur instructed.

He stood back, folding his arms and waiting to be proven right. The other man hesitated, glancing at Idris for reassurance. He eyed the stone warily then turned back to Arthur.

"My Lord we all tried when the sword and the stone first appeared twenty years ago and none of us could remove it."

Arthur just glared at him without speaking. The man sighed and turned back to the stone. Arthur and Isabelle watched as the man took hold of the hilt. He flexed his fingers, adjusting his grip, and pulled. They could see his muscles straining as he wrenched the sword but it remained stuck.

The man eventually gave up and stepped away from the sword. Arthur was scowling, adamant that the man hadn't been trying hard enough. However he turned and Arthur could see he was breathing heavily from the exertion so his argument didn't really stand up. Arthur moved back over to the sword, hoping that last time had been a fluke. However when he took hold of it he could feel the power surge through him and knew that it was made for him and him alone. He pulled gently and felt the sword easily release from its bonds. With a sigh he turned back to the others, sword in hand.

"Well I think it's safe to say that I am the only one who can remove the sword."

Isabelle rolled her eyes at him and sighed dramatically.

"Really Arthur? Funny, that's what we've been trying to tell you." She said exasperatedly before turning back to the druids, "So what do we do now."

Idris glanced at Azaria unsure. He didn't really know where to go from this. He now knew what Arthur was destined to do, something Azaria had been trying to tell him since the nobles has arrived, he had just refused to believe her. And he also knew the prince could not fulfil his destiny alone, Emyrs was more important than the prince knew. Therefore they had to retrieve the antidote.

However they had only completed two out of the three trials, he was counting the last trial as a success as he didn't think any of the druids would fight Arthur now he had removed the sword. Part of him wanted to just give them the antidote and send them on their way. Then they could return to how things were before the two nobles had arrived and shaken everything up. But tradition dictated that they couldn't gain the antidote until they had completed three trials, no matter who they were destined to be.

"Well you still have one more trial to complete." Idris said calmly, "If you want to get back to your friend in time I suggest that we get started."

Both nobles watched in disbelief as he moved away from them, towards the centre of the clearing.

"Wait a minute." Isabelle exclaimed, following him, "You can't be serious?"

"I'm perfectly serious. I told you at the start, you must complete three trials to get the antidote, and you still have one left."

"But surely this..." Isabelle indicated to the sword in Arthur's hand, "...changes things?"

"These tests have been in place longer than that sword has been in position. You will not get the antidote until you succeed in completing the last trial."

Arthur could feel the anger inside of him threatening to burst out. First of all they claim it is his destiny to help them restore magic to Camelot and now they're saying that he still has to finish the trials. He glared at Idris who just stared back at him calmly. The druids were still kneeling around the clearing and it was starting to creep Arthur out. Finally he snapped and rounded on Idris furiously.

"This is ridiculous. How am I supposed to complete this stupid destiny if you're going to force me to do another trial after you've tried to kill me in both the other two." Arthur bellowed, "How do we even know you have the antidote? We've seen nothing to indicate that you do. Why don't you stop playing games with us and tell us the truth!"

Silence followed Arthur's outburst as his voice echoed round the clearing. Arthur frowned annoyed as a small smile appeared on Idris' face at his words.

"You want the truth?" He asked with a cunning smile, looking at Isabelle.


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry about the horrible lateness of this, I'm really sorry. I have included a previously as you've probably forgotten what happened last due to my rubbish updates. The next chapter should be up quicker tho, well hopefully. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed though I have notice that numbers seemed to have dropped and I would still love to hear what everyone thinks. Thanks and Enjoy. x**

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_**Previously**_

"This is ridiculous. How am I supposed to complete this stupid destiny if you're going to force me to do another trial after you've tried to kill me in both the other two." Arthur bellowed, "How do we even know you have the antidote? We've seen nothing to indicate that you do. Why don't you stop playing games with us and tell us the truth!"

Silence followed Arthur's outburst as his voice echoed round the clearing. Arthur frowned annoyed as a small smile appeared on Idris' face at his words.

"You want the truth?" He asked with a cunning smile, looking at Isabelle.

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Chapter 16

Isabelle felt her face drain of colour as she realised the implication of Idris' words. He couldn't really be planning what she thought he was. She closed her eyes briefly and sent a prayer to whoever may be listening that they could get out of this without her secret being revealed.

Arthur however seemed oblivious to the fear coursing through Isabelle. He glared at Idris, unsure what he was looking so pleased about.

"Of course I want the truth." He barked.

He looked round the clearing and what little restraint he had left broke.

"And for god's sake get up!" He snapped at the kneeling druids.

After some hesitation the druids around the edge of the clearing began to slowly pick themselves up off the ground. Idris watched Arthur's outburst with an amused smile and then spoke.

"Then your last trial shall be a test of truth."

"Please don't." Isabelle whispered in despair but Idris ignored her.

Arthur was oblivious to Isabelle's discomfort and just stared at Idris bemused.

"A test of truth?" He asked scornfully, "What sort of a test is that?"

Idris just smiled patronisingly at Arthur and turned to the crowd. Most of the druids had hesitantly gotten to their feet by now. Idris gestured to his left and the crowd parted as a young girl walked nervously towards the small group. Isabelle saw that the girl was holding something in her hands. As the girl neared them Isabelle could see that it was some sort of crystal. She frowned as she saw the magic flowing through the girl was somehow connected to the magic in the crystal. She had never seen someone's magic linked to an object so completely before and she was rather intrigued.

She glanced at Arthur to try and gauge his reaction to the events and found him gaping at the girl. She rolled her eyes at how easily distracted he was. Glancing back she saw that the girl was quite pretty despite being a couple of years younger than them. She smiled as the girl's cropped blonde hair and startling blue eyes reminded her of Arthur. She elbowed him in the ribs to get his attention before she spoke.

"Stop gawping and concentrate or I'll tell Gwen."

Arthur had the decency to look sheepish as they turned back to the druids. The girl had stopped next to Idris and her eyes were flicking between Isabelle and Arthur fearfully. Isabelle smiled warmly at her but the girl just averted her gaze quickly.

"The truth is more precious than people think. It has the power to change the most stubborn person's mind, destroy the greatest friendship and devastate the strongest kingdom. That is why this is your final test. If you pass this you will prove you are truly worthy of the antidote. Fail however and there are no second chances, your journey would have been a wasted one."

Isabelle's mind was racing, trying to find a way to avoid the inevitable. However Idris' words resigned her to the fact that the truth was the only way to get the antidote. She had to remind herself that she was doing this for Merlin, he was far more important that her.

"What do we have to do?" She asked quietly.

"You will each answer one question. You must answer with complete honesty to pass the trial."

"But how will you know if we are telling the truth?" Arthur asked thinking he had found the flaw in Idris' plan.

"That is where Alethea comes in." Idris said gesturing to the young girl who was now standing next to him, "She has a most extraordinary gift. Using this crystal she can tell whether someone is telling the truth or not. If the crystal turns red then it is a lie, if it remains unchanged then the truth is being spoken."

Isabelle glanced at Alethea and saw her fearful face watching them curiously. Isabelle examined the link between Alethea and the crystal again. It seemed that Idris had been telling the truth as she was pretty sure she'd be able to tell if it had been fixed.

"Just one question each?" She asked Idris without removing her gaze from the crystal.

"One simple question each." He confirmed, "If you both answer truthfully then you may have the antidote and go safely on your way."

Intrigued Isabelle watched as the magic between Alethea and the crystal flared at his words. But when the magic settled down the crystal was still clear. It seemed that Idris was telling the truth. If they passed they could take the antidote and leave safely. That is if Arthur doesn't kill me first, she thought knowing what her question was going to be.

"So, are you prepared?" Idris asked them.

Isabelle nodded mutely, not trusting her voice. Arthur eyed Idris warily for a moment before deciding he didn't really have choice.

"Let's get this over with." He sighed running his hand through his hair distractedly.

"I think was shall start with the young prince." Idris said.

Then he paused. When he had come up with this trial he had been focused on Isabelle and the revelation of her magic. Now it come down to it he realised he didn't have a question for Arthur. He wasn't really sure what had possessed him to start with the prince. He glanced at Azaria, who had moved to stand next to him, and saw her tense frame and worried expression. He knew she didn't approve of him revealing the girl's magic but he knew it had to be done. However she looked slightly worn as if there was a dark secret pressing in on her.

He knew she had been looking at the nobles' futures as she had told him Arthur had a great destiny to fulfil, something he had refused to believe until he managed to remove the sword from the stone. But now he thought about it she hadn't told him anything about Isabelle's future. This puzzled him slightly as they had known each other for a very long time and, even though they didn't always see eye to eye on some issues, she had always told him every detail of her visions. He sighed and decided that the trial took priority; he would ask her about it later.

_**Any suggestions? **_He asked silently.

They were stood a couple of paces away from each other but they hadn't needed contact to form a bond for a long time. They could communicate silently without anyone around them being any the wiser.

_**These two have a very strong bond. You shouldn't exploit that for your own gain.**_

Idris smiled at the mention of their bond. It was strong but maybe it was stronger than Isabelle knew. He ignored Azaria's last words having already decided his course of action; she wasn't going to change his mind now. He turned back to the prince, who was waiting impatiently, with a triumphant smile.

"So Arthur Pendragon, do you love Isabelle?"

Isabelle scoffed, expecting Arthur's instant response. However, when Arthur didn't reply instantly, she turned to look at him puzzled. Her mouth fell open as she saw that he was actually having to consider the question. Her mind was reeling. She had expecting his instant response to be no but he seemed unsure as to the correct answer. Isabelle, utterly confused now, tried to convince herself that he was just making sure that his answer was completely truthful so they didn't fail. I mean he could actually be in love with her, could he?

She knew that in the past she had been in love with him and news that he felt the same way would have been more than welcome. However her feelings for the prince were now more like brotherly affection than romantic love. And what about Gwen and the feelings he professed to have for her?

"I'm going to say yes." Came Arthur's hesitant reply.

Isabelle's gaze snapped to the crystal. She saw the magic flare up again but it remained clear. She knew she should probably be pleased that Arthur had passed his part of the trial but all she could feel was shock.

"Well done Prince Arthur. It seems you have passed. All you need now is for Isabelle to pass and you will complete the trial."

Isabelle however ignored Idris and turned back to Arthur who was watching her apprehensively.

"You love me?" She finally managed to choke out.

"Yeah, but as a sister not the way you're thinking." He said swiftly.

A quick glance at the crystal showed Isabelle that he was telling the truth. She shot him a suspicious look and found him watching her worriedly. She sighed and rolled her eyes at him with a smile making him relax slightly.

"You're such a girl." She said with a smile causing him to pull a face at her, "And I love you too, but as a brother not anything else."

"Lady Isabelle, it is your turn." Idris said, interrupting the moment.

Dread replaced the shock in Isabelle as she remembered what was coming. She shot Idris a pleading look, which he ignored. She briefly glanced at Arthur who smiled at her encouragingly. She felt sick in the pit of her stomach as she waited for the inevitable. She wondered how long their sibling relationship was going to last once Arthur knew the truth.

Idris opened his mouth to ask her question when something strange happened. Isabelle watched as Idris' mouth moved but no sound came out. She frowned, unsure what was happening to him. Well that was until she saw the magic curling around him. Fear shot through her as she saw that the tendrils of magic that were snaking round Idris were a dark grey that she distinctly remembered as it had haunted her nightmares for so long. Her heart was pounding frantically in her chest. She couldn't be here now; she couldn't have found Isabelle once again.

Isabelle cast round the clearing, knowing she was the only one who knew what was happening. The spell was so subtle that none of the druids even knew magic was being used. Isabelle could see the spell but she didn't understand why it seemed to be helping her, especially as she was sure she knew who was casting it.

Glancing round Isabelle tried to find the source, however she couldn't trace the spell. All she knew was that the sorceress wasn't in the clearing, but she was nearby.

Idris understood what was happening the moment he failed to speak the question. He sighed knowing that things were now going to turn out very differently to what he had planned but there was nothing he could do about it. The magic was much stronger than his own, he didn't stand a chance. The sheer power of the spell had originally made him think it was Emyrs helping the girl despite his current condition. However the magic was tinged with something dark that Idris knew Emyrs would never turn to. Whoever it was didn't want to prevent Isabelle's secret coming out, they just wanted to reveal it themselves.

He took a small step forward and brushed his hand against Isabelle's sending a quick thought to her with the contact and, from the terrified expression on her face, he knew she'd received it.

_**It appears it is not his destiny to discover your secret by my hand. However the time is drawing near. She is close; you need to prepare yourself for what is to come.**_

Arthur, who was blissfully unaware of the magic and silent conversations around him, was getting more and more impatient. Didn't they realise that they didn't have time to be standing around doing nothing? He had noticed Isabelle stiffen next to him but presumed she must be worried about letting them down by failing. He briefly squeezed her arm comfortingly before turning back to Idris.

"Well are you going to ask her a question or not?" He asked haughtily.

Idris snapped out of his thoughts to throw Arthur a dirty look. Once again he was stuck without a question. He sighed angrily and asked the first thing that came into his head.

"Why did a noble like yourself ride all the way out here from Camelot to get an antidote for a simple servant?"

Arthur watched curiously as Isabelle flushed at the question. He had seen her and Merlin kissing at the ball, which seemed a lifetime ago when in reality it had been less than a week since the dance. He had presumed that it had happened as a result of the drink and high spirits; however Isabelle's pink cheeks made him curious as to the feelings behind it.

"Because he is more than a simple servant." Isabelle said fiercely, "He's a better man than most nobles I know."

She took a deep breath knowing that wasn't the whole truth and she was going to have to tell them the rest.

"Because it was my fault he was poisoned. And because I love him." She said quickly.

Silence followed her words. Silence in which the crystal in Alethea's hands remained clear. No one was quite sure what to make of her honest revelation. Arthur was gaping at her in shock and even Idris looked stunned, not having expected that to be her answer. Azaria however took control of the situation.

"Well done my dear, you have completed the trial."

She drew something from the folds of her skirt. Isabelle's heart soared as she saw it was a small vile of liquid. Azaria held it out and Isabelle took it carefully, fearful of breaking it.

"If he drinks all of this before his ten days are up he will recover no worse for his ordeal. You are welcome to stay the night to recover but I'm sure you are anxious to get back to your friend." She clasped Isabelle's hands warmly, "Be careful on your journey back and remember, the future is what you make it."

Isabelle frowned at the older woman's cryptic words. However before she could reply she felt something collide with her side. Looking down she saw Bliant had wrapped his arms round her and buried his face into her side. She hugged him back and then disentangled his arms from round her. As he drew back she knelt down so her face was on the same level as his. She felt her heart break as she saw the tears welling up in his eyes.

"Do you have to go?" he asked sadly.

"I'm afraid so, I'm sorry." Tears were now pouring down Bliant's face and she felt her own eyes fill up, "I will come back for you. I promise."

"Can't I come with you?" He asked through his tears.

Every fibre of her being was screaming at her to say yes and never let the young boy out of her sight. However she knew that his magic was still relatively untrained and she couldn't risk him so close to Uther. She would never forgive herself if he was discovered. One slip would mean death for them both. Fortunately Azaria stepped in before Isabelle could fall for his puppy dog eyes.

"You must stay with us for now Bliant." The little boy turned his sad eyes upon her, "You will make it to Camelot one day."

Isabelle noted that Azaria said he would make it to Camelot, not that he would see her again. However Bliant didn't notice that and threw his arms around her neck.

"I'll miss you." She whispered to him, stroking his hair soothingly.

Bliant clung to her as he cried and she held him tightly whispering calming noises in his ear. They pulled apart and she planted a soft kiss on his head before standing up and turning to Arthur. He was watching her patiently with a sad smile. Wiping her tearstained face she moved over to him.

"We'd better get going."

x-x-x

They had packed up their small amount of belongings in silence, both lost in thought, and had accepted a few supplies from the druids gratefully. Azaria had led them through the forest to the clearing where they had first met the druids and Isabelle marvelled at how well she managed to find her way round the forest despite being blind. There was a small group of druids waiting for them there along with their horses.

"Can you find your way back from here?" Azaria asked.

"I think so." Isabelle replied.

She gave Bliant another quick hug and thanked Azaria for everything. Spotting Idris a little way off she raised her hand in farewell and he inclined his head in acknowledgement. Arthur noticed that some of the children he had been teaching had turned up to say goodbye. They were all clutching their makeshift swords and many of them were also fighting back tears.

"Keep practising what I showed you. You never know, one day you could be good enough to join my knights." He said ruffling Gliglious' hair and smiling fondly at the others.

The two nobles mounted their horses swiftly and, after a wave to the small group, they cantered off into the forest.

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**So just a nice easy ride back to Camelot for them with plenty of time to make it back before Merlin's time is up. But what about the secrets yet to be revealed and who is the mysterious presence in the forest, you'll have to keep reading to find**** out.**

**Please review! x**


	17. Chapter 17

**Now don't collapse in shock but I have actually managed a quick update! It's a rare occurrence for me I know. Thank you to everyone who's read/reviewed and to Roses-as-lips for her awesome beta, without her you'd have to suffer through my terrible grammar and spelling. As always please please review! Enjoy. x**

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Chapter 17

They rode in silence for the rest of the day. Isabelle was lost in thought. She was thinking over everything Azaria had told her. When she had discovered that her future was either to marry Arthur or die before they made it back to Camelot, she had thought that this meant that she would have the chance to choose which future was to happen during the trials, she'd presumed that was where her death would occur.

However they had completed the trials and there had been no attempt on her life. She had briefly wondered if she was supposed to be the one to actively complete the trials not Arthur, but had pushed that option aside as she knew that there was no possible future where Arthur would have ignored his knight's honour and let her complete them. Also Azaria had said that either way Merlin was going to get the antidote and recover, and he couldn't do that if she'd died.

Azaria's parting words to her about how the future can always be changed puzzled her. Isabelle had gotten the impression that her future had only two possible paths, however maybe there was another choice. Maybe she could survive to see Merlin again and avoid marrying Arthur. Then she remembered what had happened during the last trial and who she was sure was nearby. The dark presence was pushing in on her, making the forest feel more threatening, and she somehow doubted that she would be able to change things.

Arthur watched Isabelle worriedly. She had been silent and preoccupied since they had left the druids. He had expected her to be happy and talkative now they had the antidote , especially after her revelation in the last trial. He himself was glad that they had managed to pass the druids stupid trials and now had plenty of time to get back to Camelot. It was drawing near the end of the fifth day and they were already on the way home. It had taken them almost four days to get to the druids camp and, now they didn't have to stop every five minutes while Isabelle decided which way to go, he was confident they would make it back in plenty of time.

Darkness was falling so they dismounted and started to set up camp. Isabelle's silence was beginning to bug Arthur. He normally had Merlin nattering away in his ear which meant he was unused to the quiet. Also it was rare for Isabelle to be so quiet and the silence seemed to be giving the forest a darker feel. He shivered involuntarily as even the forest seemed to have fallen into a sinister silence. Finally Arthur's frustration grew to a point at which he couldn't take the silence anymore and said the first thing that came into his head.

"I'll be glad to get back to Camelot and away from all this." He gestured at the woods around him.

Isabelle finished building up the fire and sat back to look at him sadly. Arthur cursed his words as, if possible, she looked sadder than she had before. Little did he know that she'd come to a decision only moments before. She had decided which path she would take if the future couldn't be changed.

"Yeah, it would be nice to see everyone again." She said and Arthur thought he detected a note of regret in her voice.

"Well now we've got the antidote we can cure Merlin and everything can go back to normal." Arthur said happily in an attempt to cheer her up.

He saw what he thought was a flash of pain in her eyes but it was gone so fast he thought he might have imagined it. Isabelle didn't reply, instead she gazed into the fire. Her eyes glazed over and Arthur could tell she was miles away. He sat down across from her with the fire between them. He watched her silently for a few moments. He was burning to ask her something but wasn't sure that now was really the time. Unfortunately he had never been good at keeping things to himself and decided to ask her anyway.

"Did you mean what you said?" He asked curious.

"What?" She asked with a frown, her eyes moving from the fire to meet his.

"Did you mean what you said about Merlin?" He clarified, "Do you really love him?"

He saw a look cross her face, the look Merlin always teased him for having when he thought of Gwen. He realised the truth before she spoke.

"Yes I do." She said sheepishly, unsure how he was going to react.

What she didn't expect was the wide grin that spread across his face. She found herself smiling back at him, his good mood was contagious despite the darkness she felt pressing in on her.

"I'm going to have so much fun with this." He said gleefully.

"Arthur!" She scolded, "Just remember I could tell some wonderfully embarrassing stories from your childhood."

"What, more embarrassing stories than the ones you told Merlin before you'd even been in Camelot an hour?"

The wicked look on Isabelle's face told Arthur that he didn't want to know what stories she was referring to. He knew she wasn't bluffing when she said she knew some, but he was still going to have fun teasing Merlin with this information anyway; especially if his suspicions as to his manservant's feelings were correct.

"Well if it helps, I think Merlin feels the same way."

Arthur felt pleased as her smile widened. However the sad look was back in her eyes and he wished he knew what was troubling her. He knew from experience that asking wouldn't help as she would just clam up and refuse to tell him anything; she would tell him when she was ready.

They sat in silence for a couple more minutes as both of them were lost in thought. Isabelle had resumed gazing into the fire however she lifted her gaze to Arthur as a thought struck her.

"Arthur?" He grunted in acknowledgement, "Will you do something for me?"

Arthur frowned slightly at her words as he wondered what was going through her mind. However, as he saw the serious look on her face, he answered without hesitation.

"Of course."

"You promise? No matter what happens?" She said frantically.

"Isabelle what is it? You're starting to worry me?" Arthur said, concern for his friend filling him.

"Please just promise me." She said, gazing at him imploringly.

"I promise Isabelle." He said, moving to sit next to her and taking her hands in his, "What is it?"

"If something happens to me, you have to promise me you'll bring Bliant to Camelot once you're king. He can't stay there, I promised him."

Arthur nearly burst out laughing in relief. In fact if it hadn't been for the urgent look in her eyes he would have.

"Isabelle nothing is going to happen to you. We're going to go back to Camelot, give Merlin the antidote and everything is going to be okay."

"Arthur please!"

Arthur could see the tears building in her eyes and realised she really did believe something was going to happen to her.

"Okay I will, I promised didn't I?" He teased and she smiled weakly, "But you've got nothing to worry about, I won't let anyone hurt you."

"You might not have a choice." She whispered so quietly he nearly missed it.

"Is this about the sorcerer who attacked Lyonesse and left that message?" Isabelle paled as he mentioned it, "Because once we get back to Camelot they won't be able to harm you. And you'll be safe till we get back, because why would they be here?" He said brightly, trying to comfort her.

"That's a good question." She muttered gazing round at the darkening forest.

Arthur looked at her frightened form worriedly. He suddenly realised that she was trembling slightly. He squeezed her hands comfortingly, causing her to look back at him, and smiled reassuringly.

"Come on its late, let's get some rest. Things will seem better in the daylight."

x-x-x

However morning came and Isabelle was feeling tenser than ever. She could feel the dark presence drawing nearer and all her senses, magical and otherwise, were on high alert. They packed up and set off, chatting idly. Isabelle was trying to give the impression that she was fine, although she wasn't sure Arthur was buying it.

They set off as soon as the sun had risen enough for them to see by. The sun was high in the sky by the time they left the forest and entered into a large field. They pulled their horses to a halt as they realised they must have come the wrong way as they hadn't passed through any fields on the way to the druids.

Isabelle was really confused as she was sure she hadn't taken a wrong turn. But they had definitely not been here before. As she gazed round she thought it was strange that there was a field in the middle of the forest. It wasn't like the clearing that the druids had been camped in which was clearly part of the forest. It felt to Isabelle almost like someone had taken a grassy field and just replaced a part of the forest with it.

She exchanged a look with Arthur who just shrugged and urged his horse forward. The horse took a couple of paces into the clearing before rearing up in fright. Arthur, taken by surprise, was thrown from the horse and ended up sprawled on the ground as his horse backed away fearfully into the safety of the forest. Isabelle, not keen to repeat Arthur's mistake, dismounted and made her way over to him.

She had almost reached him when she suddenly froze. Turning away from him, Arthur watched as her gaze flickered round the edge of the clearing warily. He scrambled to his feet, assessing himself for any serious injuries. Satisfied he had nothing worse than some bruising he looked back at Isabelle to see that her wary expression had been replaced by one full of fear.

"Arthur." She said slowly, her eyes never leaving the other end of the clearing.

"Are you alright Isabelle?" He asked concerned.

"Arthur you have to go." She said calmly, her voice not revealing the fear she was feeling.

"What?" He asked stunned, "Isabelle I'm not leaving you."

"You have to go Arthur, it's not safe."

"I'm not leaving Isabelle. Not till you tell me what's going on." He replied stubbornly.

"Arthur please!" She cried fearfully, losing her calm facade, "Run! Run and don't look back."

"I can't Isabelle." Came the suddenly quiet reply.

"You have to. She'll kill you if you don't!" She cried desperately.

"Isabelle I can't move."

She spun round to face him, tearing her gaze away from the clearing for the first time. She saw that he was frozen in place, unable to move. The magic swirling around him was obvious to Isabelle and she swore angrily under her breath. Fury coursed through her as she turned back to the clearing. It was all very well for her to hunt Isabelle but she was going to make the other woman regret bringing Arthur into this.

An unnerving laugh echoed around the clearing as a tall woman appeared through the trees on the other side and stepped into the field.


	18. Chapter 18

**I said the quick updating wouldn't last but here's the next chapter. Its a little shorter than the others but the next one will be longer, I hope you enjoy it anyway. Thanks to all my amazing reviewers, I love reading your comments. And as always thanks to Roses-as-lips for the beta. I'd love to know what everyone thinks. Enjoy. x**

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Chapter 18

The woman advanced into the clearing, her piercing gaze fixed on Isabelle. Arthur struggled with the spell that held him in place, trying to break free, but to no avail. He could only look on in horror as the woman reached the middle of the clearing and paused, her gaze never leaving Isabelle.

"My dear girl, do you really think you could make me regret messing with your boyfriend?" The woman's voice was as cold as her gaze, "We've been through this before; you don't have enough power to beat me."

Isabelle glowered at the woman and slowly moved to her right, placing herself between Arthur and the sorceress.

"Get out of my head." She growled angrily to the other woman.

"I don't think so, that would spoil the fun." For the first time the woman seemed to pay attention to Arthur, "Or I could go delving in the little prince's thoughts. Oh what turmoil it holds."

Arthur felt the intrusion in his mind as she spoke. He tried, and failed, to push it out. It was a similar feeling to when Isabelle had been in his head during the trial. However, whereas Isabelle's presence had been cool and clear, this woman's was dark and clammy. She let out a cold laugh at Arthur's attempts to push her out.

"Hmm, he's feisty this one." She said to Isabelle, "I can see why you like him. And don't you go trying to deny it; I'm in your head, remember? I see it now as I saw it all those years ago. Oh..." She broke off with a wicked smile, "Well well, maybe I was wrong."

Arthur saw Isabelle freeze and realised that, as the presence seemed to have left his mind, it was probably back in Isabelle's. The woman took another step forward and Arthur took the moment to look at her properly for the first time. She was much taller than Isabelle, around the same height as him. Her long red hair, a colour you didn't often see in Camelot, fell past her shoulders and seemed to billow in a nonexistent breeze. Her pale skin matched Isabelle's and her cold blue eyes seemed to pierce through him.

"It seems my plan went better than I could have thought." She said, almost to herself, "When that stupid servant ate the poison meant for lover boy here I thought I'd never get you out of the castle. But it seems I hit the jackpot. Who knew that the high and mighty Isabelle de Fouwe would go and fall in love with a servant?"

Something clicked inside Arthur's head at her words and he felt fury build inside him.

"You! You poisoned Merlin?!"

The woman sighed dramatically and walked round Isabelle to Arthur. Isabelle tried to prevent her from getting past but the woman flicked her wrist and Isabelle found her feet glued to the ground. She wasn't completely stuck like Arthur but she couldn't move her feet from the spot and was helpless to stop the woman approaching Arthur. Arthur saw the flash of gold in the other woman's eyes and felt fury rise within him as, once again, a sorceress was proving that his father was right about magic.

The woman reached Arthur's side and smiled at him. Arthur noticed that she probably would have been pretty if it wasn't for the cold edge to her features and the terrifying look in her eye.

"Well actually I tried to poison you but your stupid servant got in the way. I didn't know you allowed servants to steal from your plate." She sighed heavily and tutted as if she was concerned about this fact, however there was no feeling in it, "You'll have to put a stop to that if you manage to make it back. I suppose death is a fitting punishment for being a nasty little thief."

Isabelle let out a cry of anger at her words. She longed to launch her magic at the woman but knew it would do little and performing magic openly in front of Arthur wasn't the best idea. Despite this she was having to physically restrain herself from using her magic on the woman. Instead she focused it all on the spell holding her feet firm, trying to break it. However she was still not fully recovered from the trials the day before and she didn't have enough to break through the spell. She heard the other woman chuckle and knew she was sensing her attempts. She groaned in frustration that she couldn't do anything about their predicament. The other woman frowned at her patronisingly and turned to Arthur.

Arthur shivered as the woman's gaze travelled over him. He felt like a piece of meat being sized up for the chop. She disappeared from view as she walked round him. He strained against the spell, trying to keep his eyes on her. He felt strangely vulnerable as he realised that she could attack him and he wouldn't be able to see it coming, let alone do anything about it. She reappeared at his other side and started to speak, almost to herself.

"You remind me of my son. He was about your age. Such promise, he could have been so great. Alas, your little princess prevented that from ever coming to pass."

Arthur watched the woman in fascination. As she spoke of her son her features softened and her eyes warmed. He realised he was getting a glimpse of the woman she used to be. He could sense the love she had for her son and felt a small pang of pity that the loss had turned her into the cold hearted witch in front of him. However the feeling was fleeting; she had trapped them and was threatening to kill them both, it was hard to feel sorry for her for long with all that in mind.

"It wasn't my fault." Isabelle whispered so quietly Arthur almost missed it, "I couldn't do anything, I was scared."

Arthur heard her voice hitch and a small sob escape her. He moved his gaze to her and was surprised by the depth of emotion he saw on her face. Her eyes were full of sadness and regret and he could see tears beginning to form in them. He didn't know how she could be related to this boy's fate but he could see the deep affect it had had on her.

"Please...please just let him go." Isabelle pleaded, "Your quarrel is with me not him, he has nothing to do with this."

"Oh don't worry your pretty little head my girl, I'm not going to lay a finger on him." She said, her hand hovering inches from his cheek.

"I'm not going anywhere without her." Arthur said to the woman stubbornly, his eyes still fixed on Isabelle.

The cold laugh that echoed through the clearing sent chills up his spine and both he and Arthur shivered involuntarily. He tore his eyes from Isabelle's distraught face to see the woman watching him calmly.

"Well by all means, you are welcome to take her dead body with you when you go; it's of no consequence to me." The woman said indifferently.

Arthur gaped at her; she couldn't really mean what he thought. However one look at her face told him that this was exactly what she was planning.

"No! You can't!" Arthur cried in disbelief, "Kill me if you have to, just spare her. Please."

Another laugh was the result of his begging and her smile widened cruelly.

"The prince of Camelot resorting to begging, that's not something you see every day." She chuckled as if his attempts just amused her, "If you wish to die I can kill you too, I'm not fussy. But your dear Isabelle won't escape her punishment this time, it's non-negotiable."

"Who are you sorceress?" Arthur demanded in the most regal voice he could muster.

"My name is Hecate and you have no idea what you are getting yourself into boy. There are few who have the knowledge or affinity with the Old Religion to match me." She replied, clearly pleased with herself.

Arthur was about to speak again when Isabelle cut him off.

"Look you've had your fun. Just let him go and get this over with." Isabelle snapped.

Her face looked calm and, if it wasn't for the tears that were leaking down her face and the terrified look in her eyes, Arthur might have thought she had been expecting this.

"The fun has only just begun my dear." Hecate said, "I will let him go, but first I think we should destroy the foundations of his world, shake up his belief in Uther's stupid life lessons a little bit."

Arthur missed the colour drain from Isabelle's face at her words, too busy glowering at Hecate. He tried to speak in defence of his father but found that, although his mouth was moving, no sound came from it. He glanced at Isabelle in panic for some explanation as to what was happening to him. However she was staring at Hecate, ashen faced.

"But you stopped Idris telling him. Why do you want to bring it out now?"

"My dear girl I didn't curse the little druid man for your benefit. I want to be the one to reveal it, not that dreadful man. I want to see the prince's little face crumple as his world shatters around him."

She smiled at Arthur fondly, as one would a small child. He felt anger well up inside him However being unable to speak or move he was unable to express it. Hecate continued as if they were having a mundane conversation about the weather, but the glee behind her words was apparent to all.

"Anyway that's not the only thing you're hiding from him. How about you tell him your dirty little secret, tell him what happened when you were fourteen."


	19. Chapter 19

**Sorry sorry sorry, I know it's been a very long time since the last update but life has been major hectic. This chapter continues straight on from the last so if you've forgotten what just happened in the time it's taken me to write this then you might want to glance back. Thanks to everyone who's suffered through my terrible updating record and made it this far,I would really like to know what you all think so please review. Enjoy. x**

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Chapter 19

Tears were freely pouring down Isabelle's face by this point. She knew exactly what Hecate was talking about. The scene in front of her blurred with tears and she found herself thrown back into memories of that terrible day. Images of burning, screaming, and crying flooded her senses. The smell of charred flesh, the sound of his screams, the feel of the hand on her arm preventing her from running and never looking back. She felt the ache in the pit of her stomach, the guilt she had carried every second since that day.

"So my dear, do you want to tell him or shall I?" Hecate asked coolly.

Isabelle pulled herself back to reality and wiped her eyes angrily. She hated to cry but it seemed that she had been doing that more often since coming to Camelot than she had in the last couple of years.

"Why?"

Hecate looked slightly stunned by Isabelle's words; that wasn't what she had been expecting the girl to say. She turned from the prince to look at Isabelle. The defiant look on her face almost made Hecate laugh. Instead a cold smile spread across her face. When the stupid girl had started to cry Hecate had thought she had given up, but the stubborn look Isabelle was giving her made her think that maybe the girl was finally going to fight back. This is going to be so much fun, Hecate thought to herself.

"Why? Well it might end up being a bit confusing for him if we both tell him at the same time." Hecate said casually.

Her words made Isabelle's blood boil. Hecate knew full well that wasn't what she meant. However the other woman just met her glare with a cool look.

"You know that's not what I mean." Isabelle spat back angrily, "Why do you want to tell him. It's none of his business what happened between us. I understood why you wanted to reveal the other thing considering who his father is, but this has no point to it."

Arthur glanced between the two women in front of him. He didn't have a clue what either of them was on about. It seemed to him that they were talking in some sort of code. It was clear they knew each other but Arthur didn't have any idea as to how Isabelle would know a sorceress, especially a sorceress who wanted to kill her. Arthur longed to be able to do something, anything, but without the use of his voice or limbs he was powerless to express his opinion. What made things worse was that they seemed to have forgotten he was even there, so caught up in their argument as they were.

"It has everything to do with him. And don't try telling me that he had nothing to do with it; I didn't believe you at the time and I don't believe you now."

Isabelle groaned in frustration. She knew persuasion wasn't going to work. She wasn't going to be able to change her mind. Hecate flashed her a victorious smile before turning back to Arthur who was glaring at her.

"Don't look at me like that; I just think you should know the truth about your little friend." Hecate said to him with a smile.

However Arthur continued to glare at her angrily. Hecate let out a sigh and flicked her wrist at him. Arthur saw her eyes flash gold and found he had use of his voice again. He took the opportunity to express his anger.

"Let us go!" He growled, "If you go through with this I swear I will hunt you down and make you pay for it. Your life will be a living hell and..."

Once again Arthur's mouth moved yet no sound came out. Hecate sighed at him and shook her head patronisingly.

"Gods he is dull, I don't know how you can stand to be around him." She said to Isabelle who remained silent.

Isabelle was gazing into space with a curious look on her face. Her eyes were glazed over and she seemed to be miles away. Hecate frowned for a moment as she couldn't place the expression. She turned away with a shrug and looked back at Arthur who had resumed glaring at her. Rolling her eyes she felt a thrill of exuberance shoot through her. After all this time she was finally going to get her revenge. Isabelle would die as her son had and Arthur would live knowing the painful truths, knowing that his relationship had been built on a lie.

"Well shall I start then?" She said pleasantly.

Isabelle found herself unable to speak. Her voice was lodged somewhere in her throat, blocked by the fear welling inside her. She could feel Arthur's gaze boring into her but she refused to look at him. She didn't want to see his confused expression with his eyes full of faith in her, faith she knew she didn't deserve.

Hecate was momentarily confused by the lack of protest from Isabelle but the girl still had that strange expression on her face and seemed distracted by something else. Annoyed by the lack of fight she was once again putting up, Hecate glared coldly at her before starting her story.

"I used to live in Lyonesse, I was the best dressmaker in the town and so we lived in relative comfort. Until one day the queen decided to call upon my services. So happily I went up to the castle, taking my son Perses with me."

Arthur didn't have a clue where Hecate was going with this but he couldn't interrupt her tale without his voice. Isabelle also didn't look inclined to interrupt. To Arthur she looked resigned, as if she already knew what was coming and was powerless to stop it. Focusing back on the story Arthur realised that this must have happened a long time ago as the Queen had died shortly after Isabelle's fifteenth birthday.

"So while we were up at the castle Perses took a shine to Isabelle here. He was infatuated and Isabelle thought it would be fun to toy with his heart..."

"I wasn't toying with him!" Isabelle protested, the fight coming back into her eyes, "I really cared for him."

Hecate scoffed at this but continued as if Isabelle hadn't spoken.

"But he was besotted with her. So eventually he decided to tell her about his gift despite my advice to the contrary. He told her about his magic."

If Arthur had been able to make a sound his gasp would probably have echoed around the clearing. As it was, his sharp intake of breath was silent. He couldn't really believe what he was hearing. He was pretty sure he knew where this was going, and it made him feel sick to the pit of his stomach.

"And in return Isabelle told him her deepest secret, a secret that would shock you to the core." Hecate said to Arthur.

That made Arthur pause, that hadn't been what he had been expecting her to say. He thought that Isabelle would have had to hand him over for breaking the law. However now he properly thought about it he couldn't see Isabelle handing anyone over to be killed. Like Morgana she had always seemed to question the laws on magic, maybe he was now discovering why.

"He was so happy. But then it was announced that the King and his children were going to Camelot to renew the peace treaty. And with the promise of seeing her old boyfriend Isabelle tossed Perses away."

"It didn't happen like that." Isabelle interrupted again, "We had been fighting for weeks. Perses didn't like the way the country was being run and that I wasn't doing anything about it even though I was in the position to. He wanted me to talk to Uther about the magic laws, get him to change things. It didn't seem to matter to him that I had tried and failed in the past. I was only fourteen! I didn't know what to do; Uther scared the hell out of me. I was always worried he would find out..."

Isabelle broke the off suddenly, realising what she had been about to say. Things were clicking together in Arthur's mind. He remembered that visit vividly. That had been when he had made the biggest mistake of his life. But he also remembered that even before that had happened Isabelle had been jumpy and distracted, flinching at the smallest mention of magic.

Arthur saw the distant look on Isabelle's face and knew she remembered that trip just as well as him. He watched her close her eyes and take a deep breath, steeling herself for the rest of the story.

"So we broke up and I went to Camelot with Father and Tristan. Everything was just so messed up. I was confused and terrified." Isabelle opened her eyes and looked at Arthur with a small smile, "And then you were there, and you made me feel safe and wanted and I just stopped thinking, so we picked up where we left off. Well until I walked in on you with her."

This time it was Arthur who closed his eyes in despair. To this day he still didn't know what had possessed him to kiss that maid. All he remembered was that he had her pressed against the wall and Isabelle had walked in. The look of broken horror on her face had been burnt into his mind ever since. He hadn't seen her that evening and they had left early the next morning so he hadn't had a chance to talk to her, to explain.

She had eventually forgiven him but their relationship had never been the same and he had deeply regretted it ever since. He had sometime wondered what things would have been like if he hadn't messed it all up. He realised that she was still talking and opened his eyes to see tears were, once again, pouring down her face.

"Well you broke my heart." She continued with a wry smile that didn't reach her eyes, "We returned home and I was miserable and heartbroken. Perses tried to fix things between us but I was scared. I was scared that if I let him in he would hurt me like you had and I didn't think I could handle that again. So I pushed him away. I avoided everyone and refused to let people in. But he was persistent. He knew there was something upsetting me and he just wanted to know what it was. He was so sweet and kind and I just...I..." Isabelle broke off with a sob, "I shouted at him, I said some terrible things to him and he got so angry."

Arthur has a terrible feeling in the pit in his stomach; guilt was gnawing away at him. Despite Hecate's conviction that this was all Isabelle's fault, Arthur knew better. He could see it as Isabelle recounted the events. He was the one to blame. He'd known his mistake had had repercussions, but he hadn't known that they had gone this deep. His brain was whirring, trying to find a different interpretation of the facts. The two women in front of him might see things differently but, however he looked at things, it was all his fault.

"The next day they arrested him in the courtyard."

Isabelle broke off, she was sobbing heavily now. She tried to continue but the memory of what had happened that day flooded over her and she couldn't make her voice work.

Hecate spotted this and watched in disgust. She was letting her emotions control her, something Hecate had mastered long ago. Showing emotions showed weakness and she didn't have space for that anymore. Turning away in revulsion she picked up where Isabelle had left off.

"He had been shouting to anyone who passed by, declaring that their precious princess could do magic, that she was breaking the law. Accusing the royal family of magic was considered treason and he was sentenced to death." Hecate said clinically.

It puzzled Arthur how she could talk about the death of her son so calmly when she had been so passionate about it earlier. Then suddenly things started to click. When she had first appeared Arthur had thought she was another crazy sorceress who was just bent on killing them. But as she had spoken he had seen something different. While she spoke about revenge and taunted them she appeared as crazy as he had thought. However the fond way she talked about her son and the coherent way she had told the events told another story. Arthur realised that, unlike Isabelle, she had detached herself from the emotions of the memory and so seemed unaffected by it. However Arthur had grown up with court politics and could see that there was some feeling in her eyes no matter how she tried to hide it. He realised that the death of her son had messed her up deeply, there were still flashes of the woman she used to be but grief and hatred had twisted things, making her so focused on her revenge.

Isabelle had wiped away most of the tears and seemed to be pulling herself together. She knew she had to add her contribution to the story if it was going to be anywhere near the truth. That was the reason she had spoken up before. She hadn't been going to; hopping that Hecate would tire of her lack of response and decide it wasn't worth it. But when she had continued Isabelle had realised that Arthur was going to find out the truth no matter what she did and that if she stayed quiet then Hecate would twist the story, distorting the truth. She took a steadying breath and spoke again.

"The laws on magic aren't the same in Lyonesse as they are in Camelot. Officially magic is banned, it has to be for our treaty with Camelot to remain, but things are much more relaxed. People are only executed if they use magic to harm someone or break another law. Mostly though people just turn a blind eye to the magic. However Perses' public outburst couldn't be ignored. Father had to punish him according to Uther's laws in case word got back to Camelot." Isabelle explained, there was an almost pleading note to her voice, "And I tried to stop it, I really did. But I was scared. Scared that it would be me, that if people looked closer they'd find the truth."

Arthur was completely confused now. He didn't understand what Isabelle was saying. He had followed the story until Isabelle's last words. Why would she be worried she would be next? Her father adored her, _had _adored her, Arthur corrected remembering her loss; there was no way he would have sentenced her to death. And he knew for a fact that the people of Lyonesse loved her, they wouldn't stand by and let her burn. A small voice in the back of his head was telling him that there was something missing, something he didn't know. The way she seemed to be about to say something before breaking off, the fear in her eyes when Idris' had announced the final trial was truth, the knowing look Hecate kept giving them, it all added up. If only he could work out what she was hiding.

"And so my son was burnt at the stake while she just stood by and watched, she didn't even try to do anything." Hecate spat coldly.

"I did! I begged and pleaded but it didn't work. We need the alliance with Camelot and father feared Uther's reaction if he let Perses go." The despair was evident in Isabelle's voice, "I didn't want to watch, I wanted to go and help him but father kept me in place. He said I had to be there otherwise people would talk, they would look closely and he knew I couldn't afford that. I was just a kid, a frightened little girl, I didn't know what else to do."

"Do you know what the worst thing is?" Hecate cut Isabelle's babbling off coolly, "It was the truth. My son was killed for telling the truth."

Shock was reverberating through Arthur. Hecate couldn't really be implying what he thought. He had known Isabelle his whole life, there was no way she had magic. He glanced over at her but her expression was unreadable. Turning back to Hecate he saw the malevolent look in her eye as she watched him trying to understand.

Isabelle suddenly found that the spell holding her feet in place had broken. She had been working on breaking it whilst Hecate had been distracted with storytelling and she had finally succeeded. She quickly moved over to Arthur before Hecate could realise and replace the spell. Hecate looked momentarily shocked before shrugging. She knew that there was no way Isabelle was going to leave without Arthur and she didn't have enough power to break the spells holding him in place, of that Hecate was certain.

Isabelle placed a hand on Arthur's arm. She could almost see the cogs whirring in his mind as he tried to figure out what was going on. She bit her lip in despair, knowing that he was going to hate her and there was nothing she could do about it. She looked at Hecate and, in that split second, she knew exactly what was going to happen.

"I'm sorry." She whispered to Arthur.

Arthur frowned at her confused. And then everything happened at once. He caught a glimpse of gold in Hecate's eyes before a ball of fire was flying towards them. He had a brief second in which he realised his life was about to end before Isabelle threw her arm out and cried something in a language he didn't recognise. He turned to look at her to see her eyes blaze gold and the fireball seemed to disappear as if it had been doused with water.


	20. Chapter 20

**_I'm really sorry! *hides behind sofa* I know this is so late but things have been chaotic with exams and I haven't really had any free time for writing. But they're practically over so I should be updating more regularly, should being the key word there. Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter and if anyone is still reading after all this time then I'd love to know what you think of this chapter. Enjoy. x_**

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Chapter 20

Silence filled the clearing. The three figures were frozen. Hecate's eyes were flickering eagerly between the two nobles, waiting to see who was going to make the first move. The excitement was flowing out of her; this was the moment she had been building up to for so long. Soon Isabelle would get her comeuppance and the prince would be reduced to a traumatised mess, no longer fit to run a country and it would be ripe for the taking. Not that she was particularly interested in ruling Camelot, but she knew plenty of sorcerers who would be happy to rid the world of Uther and his prejudices for her.

In contrast to this, Isabelle's fear was welling up inside of her. She knew that there was going to be huge repercussions for her actions but she also knew there was no way she could have done anything else. She wouldn't sacrifice Arthur to save herself, she knew there was no way she'd have been able to live with herself if she had, let alone look Merlin in the eye.

So her instincts had taken over and she had used magic in front of the crown prince of Camelot. She hadn't moved since, waiting for Arthur's reaction. Her eyes closed in despair and she took a deep breath, trying to calm her frantically beating heart. Her mind was running over all Arthur's possible reactions however she was yet to come up with one that was going to benefit her that was realistic.

Unable to stand the silence pressing in on her she opened her eyes and turned to look at Arthur. However what she saw made her fervently wish she had kept them closed. The look of pure fury in Arthur's eyes made her stumble back in shock. She had never thought that his reaction would be this terrible, after all they had just spent the last couple of days in the druids' camp surrounded by sorcerers and she had thought he was coming around to the view that magic wasn't completely evil.

However Arthur seemed to have forgotten all that. All he could focus on was the girl in front of him. His mind kept playing her eyes flashing gold over and over again. His thoughts were spinning, he wasn't really sure how to comprehend what he had just discovered so her clung onto the only solid thing he could; her lies.

Unfortunately the spell was still holding him still and preventing him from speaking so he couldn't vent any of his fury. The world was narrowing round him until all he could focus on was her betrayal. He had known her his whole life, played with her as a child, shared his first kiss with her, and she had been lying to him this whole time. Betrayal was flooding through him and it was all he could do not to scream, of course he wouldn't have been able to make a sound even if he had.

Then suddenly he felt a change, as if something had been released around him. The sudden change made his head spin and he moved his hand to his temple to try and relieve the pressure. The moment he realised what he'd done he froze, tearing his gaze from Isabelle to stare at Hecate incredulously. He was met by her amused gaze and knew this was part of her plans.

Isabelle momentarily forgotten, Arthur realised that he could move his whole upper body. However when he tried to take a step forward he found himself unable to move his feet. Frustration flooded through him and he growled in annoyance, only for his eyes to widen in shock as he realised that his voice was no longer silenced. He inspected Hecate suspiciously, unsure what reason she could have to let him speak again, for the look of surprise on Isabelle's face showed that this was clearly not her doing. He watched as Hecate calmly surveyed the two of them, she was clearly waiting for something but Arthur didn't have a clue what.

"Arthur?"

Isabelle's tentative voice snapped him out of his reverie. He turned back to face her and saw the resigned look of despair in her face. For a moment Arthur felt a pang of empathy towards her, but that was soon pushed away as the anger returned.

"How could you?" He whispered menacingly.

"This isn't my fault Arthur. You have to let me explain."

She took a step towards him but Arthur flinched away from her. He saw the hurt on her face but knew it was nothing compared to the betrayal he was feeling.

"All this time you've been lying, all this time you've been learning sorcery behind my back."

Isabelle could hear the anger in Arthur's voice but she could also sense the hurt hidden behind it. She knew how terrible she would feel in his position but there was nothing else she could have done. It's not like she could have told him, not with the views on magic that had been implanted in him since birth.

"I had to, I didn't have any choice!" She pleaded.

"There's always a choice." Arthur spat back angrily, "Magic is evil, I would have thought you of all people would know that, especially after what she's trying to do to you."

Arthur's words stung her. She couldn't believe he was still spouting his father's crap at her. Surely all they had seen over the last couple of days would have told him otherwise. She found herself fighting to control her anger. Her normally long fuse had been sorely tested over the last couple of days and lack of sleep and the magic that normally sustained her was making her unusually irritable. Who was he to judge her like that? He wasn't the one who had spent their whole life hiding who they truly were from everyone they knew.

"You think I chose this?" She snapped, smiling inwardly as Arthur looked taken aback, "You think I enjoyed lying to you and everyone I care for. There was nothing else I could do if I wanted to keep my life."

She closed her eyes in despair and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She had always had great self control; she'd had to if she was to keep her magic hidden. However her exhaustion was making it harder for her to stay in control and she was having trouble keeping her raging magic in check. Finally she felt she could speak again and she opened her eyes to look at Arthur imploringly.

"I'm sorry for lying Arthur, I truly am. But you have to understand I didn't see anything else I could do."

Isabelle's heart leapt as she saw his face soften slightly at her words. She knew he probably wouldn't fully forgive her anytime soon but she was silently praying that he'd be able to understand her side of things and maybe start to accept it.

"You still could have told me." He muttered, betrayal still evident in his voice, "You don't really think I would send you to be killed?"

"Of course not, I know that now. But when I was little I was always told to make sure no one knew about my magic, not even my friends. By the time I was old enough to make the decision for myself I'd been lying for so long that I knew if I told you now you'd be mad about how long I lied to you for. And the longer I put it off, the longer I had been lying to you and the worse I knew it would be when I did finally tell you." She smiled at him sadly, "I guess I was just afraid you would hate me. Well I suppose this shows I was right."

"I don't hate you."

Isabelle froze on hearing those words; sure she must have mistaken them. She looked up from where her gaze had shifted to the ground sadly to inspect his face. She saw the truth in his eyes and a small smile spread across her face.

As she was about to speak again there was an angry snort. She turned to see Hecate glaring at them furiously. Isabelle had forgotten she was there, so absorbed in trying to make Arthur understand. However now she realised they weren't alone she instantly went into high alert. The murderous look on Hecate's face told her she wasn't pleased with the way things were turning out.

The angry witch took a couple of paces forward before composing herself. How dare these insolent children ruin her plans? They were supposed to be shouting at each other in hate not explaining things rationally and forgiving. Hecate glared daggers at them and smiled triumphantly when Isabelle's smile dropped from her face. She could feel the magic building up within her and the comforting burn behind her eyes that told her she was in control. She was going to fix this disaster. She knew that Isabelle's magic was sorely depleted and even when the younger girl was at her best she was still no match for Hecate. She smiled evil, enjoying the anticipation of the terror she was about to sow.

Isabelle flinched as she saw the mad glint in Hecate's eye. She could feel the magic building inside the other woman and knew there was no way she could compete with her.

Instinctively she took a couple of paces away from Arthur, drawing Hecate's line of fire away from the prince. Hecate's unnerving gaze never left Isabelle and she sighed in relief that she wasn't going to have to protect Arthur as well, protecting herself was going to be hard enough.

There was a split second where Isabelle saw Hecate's eyes flash gold before a second fireball was streaking towards her. She dispatched this as easily as she had the first one but knew this was only a test, the real battle was still to come.

Arthur watched, eyes wide, as spell after spell flashed between the two women in front of him. For a moment it seemed like they were evenly matched but eventually even Arthur, with his limited knowledge of magic, could see Isabelle was losing ground. As far as he could tell her spells seemed to be mainly defensive, and Arthur knew from experience that you can't win a battle on the defence.

He cried out in shock as one of Hecate's spells penetrated Isabelle's defence and she staggered back with the force of it. Arthur strongly wished that there was something, anything, that he could do to help but his feet were still firmly fixed to the floor. For the first time in his life Arthur could see the benefit of having magic and wished that, just for that moment, he possessed it so he could help Isabelle.

Another spell struck her and she found herself staggering back once again. Her whole body ached with the effort of maintaining her defence and it was starting to crack. She could feel her usually plentiful supply of magic was almost depleted. She glanced into Hecate's merciless eyes still blazing gold, and knew this was how it was going to end, knew this was what Azaria had been talking about when she had said that she wasn't going to make it back to Camelot. So much for 'the future can always be changed', Isabelle thought wryly to herself. Not wanting Hecate's face to be the last thing she saw Isabelle closed her eyes, focusing on drawing every last drop of magic out of her. She could only send out a quick prayer that Hecate would leave Arthur alive and he could take the antidote back to Merlin in time before she felt her defences start to flicker weakly.


	21. Chapter 21

**I'm so sorry this is so late, please don't hate me! Things have been majorly manic. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it and I'm on my summer holidays now so updates should be more regular. As always thanks to all you wonderful people who are still reading and reviewing, I love you guys. Also huge thanks to Roses-as-lips for her awesome beta and who's probably sick of my nagging for her help but we all appreciate it. I hope those of you who are still with me enjoy this. x**

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Chapter 21

Morgana was once again sat by Merlin's bedside; it seemed that she'd spent most of her time there over the last six days. Gwen and Gaius were often there too but they both had duties to attend to. As the king's ward her main job was to stand silently and make Uther look good, a role she despised, so no one really noticed that she had been absent. She had still attended any dinner or meeting that Uther had commanded of her but they felt empty without Arthur's solid presence next to her and Merlin's clumsy smile radiating from the row of servants.

Sighing deeply her gaze fell on the fragile figure in the bed next to her. It pained her to see Merlin so lifeless when he was usually so full of energy. She bit her lip in worry as Merlin continued to toss and turn, his face contorted in pain. Gaius had told her all about the poison that Merlin had ingested and she knew that he would be feeling as if his insides were on fire as the poison was pumped through his blood stream.

She had been counting down the days since Arthur and Isabelle had left and knew they only had four left before Merlin's time was up. She prayed every night that they would make it back in time. She had tried using her dreams to see if she could see anything. She wasn't stupid; she knew her dreams were visions of the future despite Gaius trying to tell her otherwise. But she didn't know how to use her gift, or curse depending on how she looked at it. All she got was disjointed images, nothing that told her whether Merlin was going to make it.

Snapping out of her thoughts she focused back on her surroundings and shifted her gaze back to Merlin. However what she saw made her sit bolt upright and clutch at his hand. As opposed to the writhing in agony that Merlin had been doing for the last six days, he was suddenly lying completely still, his brow furrowed as if in concentration. Morgana gazed at him in shock, half hoping he was about to wake up.

"Merlin?" She asked tentatively.

However he made no indication that he had heard her. Morgana placed one hand on his brow and felt the raging temperature that was unchanged. She cast round the room but didn't have a clue what she was supposed to do in situations like this. She wished Gaius was here, he would know what to do. But the elderly man was in the lower town where there had been some outbreak or another, and wouldn't be back for a while.

Morgana was about to summon someone to fetch him when Merlin's eyes shot open. However this wasn't what made Morgana cover her mouth with her hands in shock. Merlin's usually calm blue eyes were blazing gold. Morgana knew magic when she saw it and this was definitely it. She could see the power in Merlin, fiery in his eyes, and she glanced at the door fearfully. She knew Merlin would never hurt a fly but if anyone caught him like this he would be executed for sure.

Practicality took over and she hurried over to the door, swiftly locking it. She highly doubted anyone would come in but it was better to be safe than sorry. Seating herself back in the chair Morgana watched over him worriedly. Part of her was still shocked that clumsy, optimistic, terrible liar Merlin was a sorcerer but she had always known there was something strange about him, something he was hiding. Arthur had always claimed his manservant was an open book when she had brought it up, but she sometimes caught him watching Merlin in confusion and knew he saw it too.

A soft cry left Merlin's lips and she wiped the sweat that was swiftly forming on his brow away with a damp cloth. She wished she knew what Merlin was doing. Gaius had told her he would be getting steadily weaker as the poison worked its course and she knew he couldn't have much energy left for magic. Another desperate cry in a language Morgana didn't recognise tugged at her heartstrings and she clutched his hand between hers, trying to comfort him.

However the moment their skin touched she felt something tug deep within her. The feeling felt familiar yet alien at the same time. She closed her eyes to try and focus on it but before she could she found herself being pulled inwards towards something she didn't understand.

Images flashed across the inside of her eyelids, too fast for her to recognise any of them. The colours seemed too bright and she found herself flinching away from them from them as they burned themselves on the back of her eyes. Eventually the painful colours faded away and she was left with the image of a clearing in a forest. She could just make out three figures in the middle of it. The figures drew closer as the image seemed to zoom in on them but Morgana was distracted by the surroundings. She could see everything pulsing with life, the trees, the bushes; she could even see signs of animal life pulsing between them.

As the figures came into focus she could see the two females were pulsing with magic, it was running through their veins as readily as their blood. She glanced at the male to see that he didn't have any magic in him but she could see his life force pulsing at his core.

Suddenly she recognised the man, it was Arthur. She swiftly turned her attention back to the females and recognised the shorter one as Isabelle. She stifled a gasp as she realised that Merlin wasn't the only one hiding magic.

She wanted to study the scene closer, as she definitely didn't recognise the other woman, however it was clear she wasn't in control as she was pulled towards Isabelle. She could still see the whole scene but it was as if a link was being forged between her and the younger woman. Suddenly she saw Isabelle's eyes shoot open and she could see the surprise in her friend's eyes.

_**Merlin? Morgana?**_

The voice floating through her mind was unmistakably Isabelle's. She didn't know how any of this was happening but Isabelle's words had made it clear to Morgana who it was that had been controlling the image in her mind and had forged the link between her and Isabelle.

_**Morgana? What are you doing? How are you here?**_

Merlin's thought was a lot weaker than Isabelle's and she could sense the strain it was taking him to fight the poison. Apparently he hadn't realised that he had taken her along with him, but she wasn't leaving now.

_**I'm helping you. **_She thought back fiercely, _**From the looks of things you need all the help you can get.**_

At that moment the other woman seemed to strengthen the force of the spells she was firing at Isabelle. Morgana felt the force of it rock through her. She grit her teeth as it shuddered through her body and found herself tightening her grip on Merlin's hand.

x-x-x

Isabelle smiled at the stubborn voices of her friends echoing through her mind. Their comforting presence filled her with confidence and a new wave of energy rushed through her. However no matter how confident she was suddenly feeling; it didn't solve the fact that she had practically no magic left.

_**That's why we're here, we can help.**_

Merlin's comforting voice reassured Isabelle but she could hear the strain in his voice and knew he wasn't in a much better state then she was. However by that point she needed whatever help she could get.

_**How? Merlin I'm new at this, I don't know what to do!**_

She could hear the desperation in her own voice but couldn't bring herself to care; she needed his help if this was going to work.

_**Don't worry Iz, just follow my lead. You too Morgana.**_

Isabelle smiled at the use of his nickname for her. She felt something tug at the small pool of magic left in her and closed her eyes to concentrate on what Merlin was doing. Whatever it was it was taking its toll on her. She could feel the sweat forming on her brow and felt the fabric of her dress sticking to her back.

A shudder racked her body as her magic tried to reject the intruding presence. She squeezed her eyes tighter shut as she felt a burning pain in her chest.

However as soon as the pain started it suddenly died away and she found she could breathe easily again. Isabelle started to relax when she felt the force of Hecate's spells rattle through her once again. She snapped her eyes open and gasped at what she saw. Normally she could see the magic inside people and when it was being used in a spell however now everything seemed to pulse with life; the trees, the wildlife, even Arthur pulsed with his life force.

_**What on earth? **_She gasped, _**Are you two seeing this?**_

_**Yeah, it's so beautiful. **_Morgana breathed, _**Is it always like this when you do this?**_

_**No this is new. **_Merlin explained, _**Though I've never actually done this before so it could be normal.**_

_**Wait, you've never done this before? **_Isabelle's eyes narrowed in suspicion, _**I thought you knew what you were doing.**_

_**I do! **_Merlin protested, _**Well in theory anyway.**_

Isabelle heard Morgana sigh in exasperation but she was distracted as a wave of dizziness crashed over her. She staggered slightly and was vaguely aware of Arthur calling her name and Hecate laughing in triumph but it was taking all her energy to remain on her feet. Merlin's voice echoed through her head again but she couldn't work out what he was saying through the fogginess in her head. Her eyes drooped and she felt her body giving up and releasing the spells.

Suddenly the world came back into focus, her head was impossibly clear and she snapped her eyes back open in shock. However the scene in front of her was no different than the one she had closed her eyes on. Hecate was still staring at her manically and Arthur was still watching the exchange ashen faced. She smiled at him reassuringly and turned her attention to her failing spells. But to her surprise they seemed stronger than ever and the look of shock on Hecate's face showed that they were pushing back on her.

"How?" She unconsciously whispered.

The soft laughter ringing through her head sent a wave of comfort through her. She realised with a jolt that she missed them. It seemed bizarre as she was used to spending months without seeing Morgana and had only just met Merlin but at the same time it felt like the most natural thing in the world. There was something between her and Merlin, some sort of bond, which drew her to him despite having only known him for just over a week.

_**This is your doing isn't it? **_She asked the pair.

_**Well we said we were here to help. **_Came Merlin's cheeky reply.

And suddenly the wash of power increased and she started to push harder on Hecate's defences. Having no knowledge of the type of magic needed in the fight she surrendered control over to Merlin and allowed him to guide her and Morgana. The power washed through her body and out and she knew that she was just the vessel for the power that was glittering in the air around her.

Through the haze of magic she could see Hecate's face was now fearful as she realised that Isabelle was fighting back, stronger than she'd expected. After a brief struggle they reached a stalemate as both party's spells matched the others.

Frustration flashed through Isabelle and she frowned realising that these were not her emotions. She could feel Morgana's impatience and Merlin's exhaustion flooding through her leaving no room for her own emotions. Magic was flowing through every inch of her body and she knew her eyes were blazing gold, stronger than they ever had before.

_**Why isn't it working? Why aren't we winning?**_

Morgana's irritated voice made Isabelle smile as she recognised the trademark Pendragon impatience. Although Morgana was not technically a Pendragon, in Isabelle's eyes she shared many traits with the stubborn royal family.

_**Hang on; I'm still trying to work this thing out. As clever as I am I don't actually know everything.**_

Behind Merlin's cheeky tone Isabelle could feel the exhaustion the poison was inflicting upon him. However this thought was pushed aside as a new wave of power washed through her and she knew Merlin was the source of this. She closed her eyes and felt the power around her shift.

Despite her lack of experience with magic, having kept it hidden most of her life, she followed her instincts and found herself firing more spells at Hecate. The older woman blocked these but Isabelle could feel the ground she was gaining. She took a step forward and opened her eyes to see a flicker of fear in Hecate's eyes. More spells hit Hecate's defences and this time she was the one to step back as they faltered.

Isabelle could feel magic thrumming through her body and it felt strange to her. She had never explored her magic fully and had never felt it so alive, pulsing through her veins. It felt like the most natural thing in the world.

However she knew the main bulk of this power wasn't hers and she checked her two friends through the bond they had formed. What she saw however made her falter. Morgana was fine but Merlin, who was contributing most to the spell, was looking terrible. She knew that the poison had affected him but she hadn't realised how deeply. She didn't fully understand how he was managing to keep this up when she had been failing at the same point.

In her mind's eye she saw him and Morgana in Gaius' chambers; Merlin lying on the bed with Morgana sat next to him, clutching at his hand. As she watched she saw Merlin's ashen face turn deathly white and his skin start to take on a sickly hue. Suddenly it hit her, the reason he was managing to add more power to the spell, the solution he'd found to his lack of magic, the reason he was looking on the verge of death; he was using his life force

Once Isabelle had worked this out she knew that if they continued like this Merlin would kill himself without the poison needing to run its course; there was no way she was going to let him do that. She and Arthur had come this far, found the antidote and were going to make it back on time to save him; she wasn't going to let him throw his life away before they had the chance. He was too important for that. Too important to the future and too important to her.

She felt determination flood through her and she focused back on the spell, taking control away from Merlin. She felt him trying to fight her but ultimately she was the vessel and had control over the power flooding through her. She blocked off the power coming from Merlin. The spells faltered for a moment but she used her own energy to keep them building. She could feel the shock from both presences in her mind but pushed forward anyway. She knew she couldn't do it alone and she sent a simple plea to the other participant of the spell.

_**Give us a hand Morgana, I can't do this alone.**_

After a moment's hesitation from the other girl, Isabelle felt her respond and focused Morgana's energy into the new spells she was creating. Pushing everything she had into it she focused on the pool inside her that was untouched, kept safe by a primal self-preservation. However sheer determination on her part and the desperate need to keep Merlin from harm allowed her to break through and replace Merlin's contribution with her own.

A wave of panic washed through her and it took her a moment to realise that this emotion wasn't her own. She could feel Merlin pushing to rejoin the spell but she strengthened her block and pushed his feeble attempt out. Merlin, never one to give up, tried a different tack.

_**Isabelle please, you can't do this, you have to stop.**_

She just smiled at his words and focused back on the spells. She felt incredible. Now the magic flowing through her was truly her own and it felt like she was alive with the power, she was home. But, despite what Arthur would say, she wasn't stupid. She knew that it was her life energy fuelling the magic and that there was a strong chance she wasn't going to make it once it was over. She could feel the dull ache that was beginning to form in her bones but pushed it aside, revelling in the warmth of the magic in her veins, reinforced by Morgana's contribution. She knew that when the spells ended the warmth would be replaced by the cold fatigue that was creeping in but she clung to the heat for as long as she could, using it to banish the cold as well as fuel her spells.

_**Isabelle, don't do this. I'm begging you don't do this. I know you can feel it slipping away, please stop while you have the chance.**_

_**What is it? **_Morgana's confused voice joined Merlin's, _**Merlin what is she doing?**_

_**She's using her life force to fuel the spell; she's going to kill herself!**_

_**You mean like you were doing a minute ago?**_ Isabelle replied, _**Merlin you can't stop me. Your life is way more important than mine. You have to help Arthur become a great king, it's your destiny.**_

_**Screw destiny! **_He all but screamed in her mind, _**You think it'll be worth fulfilling without you? I've lost so much; I can't lose you as well.**_

_**Isabelle think about this, I'm sure we can fix this together without anyone dying. Please Isabelle, stop now!**_

But she ignored both of their pleading, knowing there wasn't really anything they could do about it. She had made her decision and nothing they could say would change her mind. She could see it now; this was how it was supposed to end.

_**Isabelle don't! Arthur do something! Stop her; she's going to kill herself!**_

_**Merlin he can't hear you. **_Isabelle replied calmly.

_**You want to bet? **_Came his stubborn reply.

Arthur had watched the events unfold in front of him with a sense of dread filling the pit of her stomach. He had stared wide eyed as Isabelle seemed to fall back, the spells flashing through the air coming mainly from Hecate. He'd seen her close her eyes and registered the look of defeat on her face. He had screamed at her, begging her not to give in, but she seemed not to hear him.

However, just when he'd thought all was lost, something seemed to shift. He could feel the power growing around Isabelle. He watched in shock as she seemed to have recovered enough to push back and start to overwhelm Hecate.

Despite her seeming change of fortune, one look at Isabelle's face showed Arthur that she was having some kind of inner conflict. The spells she was firing at Hecate seemed to falter for a moment before continuing, greater than before.

Arthur didn't have a clue what was going on. He was at a disadvantage, having no knowledge of magic, so he could only watch as the two women fought it out. It didn't help his pride that he was still bound by the spell that held his feet, preventing him from moving.

Frustration was welling up inside him once again but he was distracted from that by a strange feeling in his head. He clutched at his head as the sensation grew. It felt oddly familiar and after a moment's confusion he realised that it was the same feeling he'd had during the druids' trials when Isabelle had been in his head. Just as he grasped this a different voice floated through his mind.

_**Arthur! Arthur can you hear me?**_

He frowned as he heard this, recognising the familiar voice instantly and wondering what on earth he was doing in his head.

_**Merlin? What's going on? How are you in my head?**_

_**Never mind that, I'll explain later. **_Came Merlin's frantic reply, _**You have to help Isabelle Arthur! She's going to kill herself if she keeps this up.**_

_**What do you think I've been trying to do idiot! It's kind of difficult with my feet stuck to the floor. **_Suddenly he registered what Merlin said, _**Wait, what do you mean she's going to kill herself?**_

_**She's out of magic and so is using her life force to fuel the spells. She won't listen to me, you have to help her.**_

Arthur ground his teeth in frustration at Isabelle's stubbornness as Merlin's words sunk in. He longed to be able to help but he couldn't see anything he could do.

_**Are you a knight or not? **_Merlin cried in exasperation, _**Use your sword!**_

_**Jeeze **__**Merlin, your logic astounds me. **_Arthur snapped back sarcastically, _**But that stupid witch fixed my feet to the floor and I can't move!**_

_**Oh, well why didn't you say so earlier?**_

Arthur bit back the urge to point out that he had said this, multiple times, deeming it too childish for a prince. He could practically hear the cogs whirring in Merlin brain as he tried to find a solution and recognised the irony that his idiotic manservant was the one coming up with the way out.

_**I've got it. **_Merlin said excitedly, cutting through Arthur's thought, _**Give me a moment, I'll get you out of this.**_

Arthur frowned in confusion, something he seemed to be doing a lot at the moment, as he heard words echoing through his mind in a strange language he didn't recognise. However it was clear to him that the voice muttering these words belonged to Merlin. Something clicked in the back of his mind as he recognised a few of the words Merlin was saying; it was sorcery. Shock reverberated through him as he realised what this must mean. However before he had time to register anything other than shock he felt the weight lift of his feet.

_**There, you should be able to move. Now do something!**_

Arthur snapped into action, drawing his sword he approached the battling pair. He could feel the magic from the sword he had pulled out of the stone humming through him. He hesitated as he approached them, unsure what to do. Dodging any stray spells Arthur moved round towards Hecate.

Isabelle was completely absorbed in the spells but still managed to register Arthur moving towards them. She fought the urge to turn and stare at him in shock, knowing that would give away whatever it was that he was doing. She pressed harder, drawing all of Hecate's attention away from him.

She knew she was close to her end and took a deep breath, trying to hold on for a few more moments. Suddenly the force resisting her spells vanished and her gaze shot up in time to see Hecate fall forward, Arthur's sword run through her. She took a deep breath and relaxed, letting go of all the spells she had been holding in place. She felt Merlin and Morgana's presences leave her mind and a small smile crossed her face as her head started to spin, before everything went black.


	22. Chapter 22

**Well if anyone's still reading this, which I doubt at this point, I'm so sorry about the time its taken me to get this chapter up. I haven't really got any excuses except for that school nearly killed me and I had problems with bits of this chapter. I'm still not one hundred percent pleased with it but I thought you deserved something after all this time. Also I have just noticed that fanfiction seems to have gotten rid off all my breaks in my chapters so i may at some point go back and re add them in. Anyway if there is anyone still reading this I hope you enjoy it and I'd love to know what you think. Also thanks to Roses-as-lips for the beta. x**

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Chapter 22

Arthur darted forward and managed to catch Isabelle before she hit the floor. He lowered her gently to the ground feeling panic welling up inside of him. He gazed down at her too pale skin and closed eyes and felt despair flood through him. Arthur was frozen for a moment before his training took over. With one hand he propped her up slightly so he could feel her neck for a pulse. A cold wave of fear flushed through him as he couldn't feel anything. He closed his eyes in despair but didn't move from his position.

Suddenly he remembered her making him promise to take care of Bliant if she didn't make it back to Camelot. He frowned as the strange memory hit him; she couldn't have known what was going to happen to her, could she? Before this Arthur would have said there was no way, but it seemed there was so much that he didn't know about Isabelle. He couldn't believe that the girl he'd known his whole life had magic, it just didn't seem right. Yet there was something about her when she'd been using it that seemed so natural.

His eyes shot open as he felt something underneath his fingers; it was a pulse! Arthur pressed harder at her neck, trying to make sure that he hadn't been imagining it. But it was there, faint but there. Relief coursed through him; he'd been so certain that he'd lost her. Arthur lay her back down and placed his hand on her chest. He could feel her heart beating faintly and her chest moving gently up and down, proving that she was breathing. Arthur let out the shaky breath he hadn't known he was holding as he gently brushed a hair out of her face. She was alive and that was all that mattered.

However it was clear that she was still weak but Arthur didn't have a clue what to do. If she had been suffering from a wound then Arthur's knight's training had taught him exactly what to do to keep her alive until he could get her back to Camelot and Gaius. But she had no visible injuries that he could see. Unsure what he was supposed to do now, Arthur moved Isabelle slightly and something rolled from the folds in her dress. It was the antidote for Merlin.

And now he was faced with another problem; it had been six days since Merlin had been poisoned leaving him with only four left. A quick calculation told Arthur that it would take them at least four days to get to Camelot from here. If they were going to make it back in time to save Merlin they had to leave now.

Arthur closed his eyes and raked his hands through his hair in frustration. He didn't know what to do. On the one hand they had to go now if they were going to get back in time to save Merlin, but on the other he didn't know what would happen if he moved Isabelle, for all he knew that could enough to break her already loose hold on life. Arthur hated this, he had his two friends' lives in his hands and he effectively had to choose between them. He opened his eyes again and gazed down at Isabelle's still form. He could see her chest rising and falling steadily now. It could just have been his imagination but Arthur could have sworn that the colour was coming back into her cheeks.

That made the decision for him. Isabelle didn't seem like she was going to slip away any time soon, if anything she appeared to be getting stronger. Arthur turned to find their horses and bring them closer however his heart sank as he remembered that their horses had bolted as they had entered the clearing. His eyes raked the trees as he looked for some sign of them.

Fortunately the horses had been trained for battle and hadn't bolted too far. Arthur spotted a flash of brown fur and recognised their mounts through the trees. They were steadily making their way back to the clearing, seemingly satisfied that the danger had gone. Arthur moved over to them slowly, careful not to scare them off. He reached the pair and grabbed hold of their bridles, whispering soothing words to them. He led them over to where Isabelle was laid. They shifted uncomfortably, clearly not pleased to be in the clearing, but made no sign that they were about to bolt.

Arthur turned back to Isabelle and bent down beside her again. Gently he moved one arm under her knees and the other under her back and slowly picked her up. She felt so light and fragile in his arms, so different from the strong, stubborn woman he'd seen only a few moments before. Trying to be careful not to jog her too much he approached her horse slowly. He lay her over her horse and secured her with some rope from his pack. It didn't look very comfortable but Arthur reasoned that she wouldn't be able to feel it, and if it kept her alive and on the horse he didn't really care.

Arthur swiftly mounted his own horse, making sure to keep hold of Isabelle's horse's lead so it didn't wander off. They set off in this manner. Arthur knew that they wouldn't be able to go very fast like this but at least they were making progress. He could only hope that Isabelle woke up soon so they could go at a faster pace.

After a couple of minutes of riding they hit another problem. Arthur realised that he wasn't entirely sure of the way back to Camelot. Isabelle had led them to the druids' camp and, although he knew roughly where they were, one wrong turn could add days onto their journey. Arthur groaned in frustration but knew he had no choice, he had to press on.

Glancing back at Isabelle Arthur wondered how she'd known the way to their camp. She hadn't been to Camelot in years, and he doubted they would have remained in one place all this time. Arthur mulled this over for a while before it hit him; she must have been using magic. Instead of reassuring him this realisation opened up a whole new can of worms. Although he had more or less managed to come to terms with her magic during the battle, it had saved their lives after all, Arthur still wasn't sure he was completely okay with it.

For one thing he was having trouble fitting the image of sorcerers he had grown up with and Isabelle together. She had never shown even the slightest hint of magic until she'd wished to reveal it to him. He couldn't believe that it was that easy for her to keep it hidden; if that was the case then anyone could be a sorcerer. Yet he had always been told that magic corrupted people, there was nothing that could prevent that. However all he had seen of Isabelle over the past week discounted that theory. There was no way she was evil. She had defied the king along with him to recover the antidote for Merlin, she had saved his life from Hecate and, he was now starting to realise, she must have used it to help them pass the trials.

It was obvious now that she had been the one that had been using magic during the trials to help them pass. He had had his suspicions about the first task and, despite being blindfolded, he knew that whatever he had been walking on had been way too hot for him to be able to handle without some outside help. Now he knew that it must have been Isabelle that had prevented it from killing him. Whereas before he had been confused as to what the point of the test was he now fully understood the trust he had placed in Isabelle.

Though, thinking back over the trials, Arthur didn't have a clue how he hadn't realised it was her. In the heat of the moment he had thought one of the druids had been the one to bind his and Isabelle's minds together in an attempt to help them pass but now he thought about it properly there was no reason for any of them to want him to pass. They had all clearly wanted him dead until he had pulled the sword from the stone, which had been weird enough on its own without everything that had happened since. That meant that Isabelle was the only one left who could have had the motive and, as he now knew, the ability to help him.

He sighed and nudged his horse towards the left hand path as the road forked. Checking behind him to make sure Isabelle's horse was still following his gaze landed on the girl bound to it. She looked so peaceful and Arthur knew that he couldn't hate her, not after all the years they had known each other. But he knew it was probably going to take him a while to be able to trust her properly again, she had lied to him for all this time.

Speaking of lies, Arthur remembered that Isabelle wasn't the only one to have lied to him about magic. It seemed Merlin had also been hiding that secret. That was the only way that the brunette would have been able to communicate with him whilst Isabelle was fighting Hecate and the reason that he had been suddenly freed from the spell that had been preventing him from helping.

He groaned in despair. When had everything become so complicated? He and Merlin had been through so much together and he had been lying as well. Arthur was struggling to comprehend that. Merlin had always gone above and beyond what was called for from someone of his position when it came to loyalty to Arthur, though he was terrible at the things he was supposed to do as his manservant. Merlin had saved his live many times and, now he knew his secret, Arthur was wondering how many more times he had saved his life without him even knowing. But Arthur had also saved Merlin's life, that's why their relationship worked, because they trusted that the other always had their back.

Arthur rubbed his forehead, trying to relieve the pressure that seemed to be building there. He just wished that Merlin had trusted him with this secret. Though, now he had the time to think everything through calmly, he could see why Merlin had withheld that information. It was against the law to even associate with magic let alone possess it and, if he was honest with himself, Arthur couldn't be certain what his reaction would have been before this week. Their visit to the druids had definitely changed his position on magic. Though he and Merlin were definitely going to have to sit down and have a proper talk about all this, as he was going to have to do with Isabelle as well, but he thought they'd manage to get through this. He wasn't fond of the idea of having to lie to his father about all of this but that was nothing compared to the pain that would come from telling him the truth.

Arthur sighed frustrated, it would be those two that had to go and turn everything he had spent his whole life believing on its head. His was distracted from his thoughts as a groan came from behind him followed by:

"Why the hell am I tied to a horse?"


	23. Chapter 23

**Yes I know I suck, I'm sorry. Its been ages but I'm finally here with the next chapter. The final episode of series 3 gave me a kick up the backside to get this finished so here it is. I'm not completely pleased with this so I'd love to know what you think. There isn't much more of this left to go so I will endeavor to get it up asap, though no promises. Thank you to everyone reading it and I hope you enjoy it. x**

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Chapter 23

Arthur and Isabelle were now riding next to each other in silence. Arthur could almost feel the annoyance pouring from the girl next to him as she resolutely kept her gaze forward, refusing to even acknowledge him. He knew that she was still mad that he had tied her across her horse but in his defence he hadn't really had any other choice. However from the huffs of annoyance that came from her every now and again Arthur could tell that she didn't see it that way.

He had thought that he'd wanted her to wake up to make sure that she was okay and so they could have a proper talk about everything that had happened, but now she was awake Arthur didn't have a clue what to say. Although he would never admit it out loud he was petrified of what she was going to tell him. He knew that he needed to find out everything that had been hidden for so long but at the same time he didn't want to discover that the majority of their relationship had been based on lies. Also if it was so easy for Isabelle and Merlin to hide their magic then who else could be hiding in plain sight?

Eventually however, the silence became too much and Arthur knew he had to say something. Another sigh of irritation from Isabelle made him snap.

"For god's sake Isabelle it was tie you to the horse, leave you behind or not get the antidote back to Merlin. What would you rather I had done?" Arthur snapped, his words coming out more viciously than he had meant.

Isabelle turned to look at him for the first time since she had mounted her horse that day. Arthur waited, knowing for experience that it was better to leave her to realise that he was right rather than pressing the issue. Finally Isabelle sighed in defeat, turning to face forward.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly.

It was Arthur turn to stare at her. That was the last thing he had thought she was going to say. It took him a moment for the words to sink in and for him to regain control of himself.

"What for?" Arthur asked slowly.

"For everything." Isabelle replied, once again not looking at him, "For lying to you, for dragging you into all this and for acting like a spoilt brat just now."

Arthur smiled, relieved that she was talking to him again. He'd known from the moment he had found out about her magic that their relationship was never going to be the same again. It was going to take a lot to repair the broken trust and return to the way they had been. But for a while there he had feared that it had been broken beyond repair. He could see the worry and apprehension written all over Isabelle face and knew that she feared the same thing. Arthur could see how easy it would be for him to refuse to accept her apology and to allow the lies to seep in, permanently destroying any chance of fixing things. But they'd been through worse and still come out fighting and he'd already realised that he couldn't lose her or Merlin from his life and that he wanted to reach out and fix this.

"It's okay." Arthur replied soothingly, "And I meant what I said before, I don't hate you for lying."

Isabelle turned to look at him incredulous. She knew that he'd said that when she'd first told him the truth but she had feared that it had just been to ruin Hecate's plan to turn him against her. She certainly hadn't expected him to accept everything this easily.

"You don't?" She asked, needing to confirm it.

"Don't get me wrong, I am angry at both you and Merlin for lying to me. But I've thought about it and I can see why you thought you had to. I just wished you'd felt you could have trusted me enough to tell me the truth."

"I do trust you, I always have. You've gotten me out of trouble more times than I can count. I just didn't want to ruin all that with the truth, it was easier to lie." Isabelle tried to explain, hanging her head in shame, "I didn't want to end up dragging you into everything with Hecate. It was my battle to fight and I didn't want her coming after you. And after all the lies I didn't even managed to prevent that."

Isabelle felt, deep down inside, that she'd failed. She had tried to protect Arthur and herself and she hadn't succeeded in any of it. She wasn't proud of what she had done, of any of the events that had led to this. She knew that if she had tried harder to fix things all those years ago then things would have turned out so different. If she had just let Perses in, or fought her father harder over his execution, then he need never have died and none of this would have happened.

"It's all my fault." Arthur said suddenly.

Isabelle nearly cricked her neck at the speed she spun to look at him. She couldn't believe what Arthur was saying. In all the different ways she had looked over everything that had happened now and when she was fourteen, there wasn't one in which Arthur was to blame. It was all her fault, it was always her fault, and that was something she had been living with for so long and knew would never leave her.

"What? Are you insane? How is it possibly your fault?" She exclaimed confused.

"Because I screwed up." Arthur said slowly, "I was stupid and arrogant and I messed everything up between us. If I hadn't have..." His voice broke as he remembered that day, "...If I hadn't kissed her. Then you would have never been hurt and you wouldn't have felt the need to push him away."

She stared at the prince incredulously. Isabelle could tell from his voice that he truly believed what he was saying. He was really blaming himself. Suddenly it was all she could do not to burst out laughing at the absurdness of the situation.

"You're such an idiot!" She spoke, smiling in amazement, "There is no way this is your fault. Yes you screwed up, yes you were stupid and arrogant and yes I could have done without you cheating on me..."

"You really know how to make a guy feel great." Arthur said wryly.

"...But you didn't make me push Perses away." Isabelle continued, ignoring Arthur's comment, "And you didn't make me say those terrible things. You can't blame yourself for everything that happened. It will eat away at you and end up destroying you if you do."

Arthur briefly wondered when the tables had turned and it had become Isabelle comforting him, but realised that she was right. He had seen too many good men destroyed by decisions that had eaten away at them until all they could think about was what they should have done different.

"I'll let it go if you do." Arthur replied slowly, "You've carried this around for too long. You were young; you couldn't possibly have known what would happen. And I met your father, if he'd set his mind on an execution then I know there is nothing you'd have been able to do to change his mind."

Isabelle sighed, defeated. She knew he was right but she couldn't completely let this go. Without a second thought she knew that she would never be able to just forget it all happened. But somehow that was okay. It was better to keep Perses' memory with her and make sure that she never made the same mistakes again than to have the past repeat itself. And she thought she'd be able to live with it all. Anyway she always had Arthur to talk to now if it all became too much.

"I'll try." She said, smiling at him.

Arthur returned her smile and they continued on in comfortable silence. However there was something else that was nagging at the back of the prince's mind and he knew he had to say something.

"What happened back in the clearing with Hecate?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Isabelle responded.

"Well, no offence, but it seemed like you were losing and then suddenly you seemed to come to life and be able to hold your own against her."

Arthur had been watching the path ahead of them but that didn't stop him spotting Isabelle squirm at his words. He turned to look at her and saw the guilty look on her face. She was clearly hiding something that had yet to come out and Arthur wasn't a hundred percent sure he really wanted to know.

"Isabelle?" He asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Well I wouldn't have been able to face her on my own for longer if it wasn't for the fact that I'd used up a lot of my magic during the trials and still hadn't fully recovered..."

"Wait what did you do during the trials?" Arthur asked interrupting her.

He'd worked out that she must have had some part to play during the trials but, with his limited knowledge of magic, he was unsure what she'd actually done. And, if he was honest, he was actually quite intrigued by her magic. He had yet to meet anyone who wasn't using their magic to harm or manipulate him that he could actually trust. There had been the druids but he hadn't felt like he could really let his guard down and trust them. Their hostility towards him when they'd arrived and then them worshiping him for pulling the sword from the stone, which had unnerved him, hadn't really given him a chance to get to know any of them.

"During the first task you were..." She hesitated, unsure how to best tell him this, "...well you were walking on hot coals and..."

"I knew it!" Arthur exclaimed, once again cutting her off, "I knew it was dangerous and you were telling me it was fine and to trust you."

"Well it was fine wasn't it? I stopped you getting hurt." She protested, "Anyway stop interrupting me. So I managed to protect you from the heat with some help from Bliant."

"Wait he helped you? But he was only about ten?"

Isabelle silenced Arthur with a disapproving look that he'd interrupted her again. He smiled at her sheepishly and indicated that she should continue.

"And then in the second trial I was the one that linked our minds so that you could see what was happening." She continued as if he hadn't interrupted, "Well once Idris gave me a few hints."

Arthur's brow furrowed in confusion at this point.

"Hang on, he helped you? But I thought he was trying to make us fail?"

"Well he was to start with, but Azaria managed to persuade him that you are going to bring a brighter future for Camelot."

Arthur looked away embarrassed. Everyone seemed to be telling him about this amazing new world that he was going to create when he became king but he couldn't see it himself. It seemed everyone had a much greater belief in his abilities than he did.

Isabelle smiled, knowing exactly what was going through Arthur's head. She knew that, for all his bravado, he was his own worst critic. However she couldn't really tell him about Merlin's involvement in the future the two of them were going to bring, that was something for the young warlock to explain.

"Anyway during the battle with Hecate," Isabelle continued, distracting Arthur from his thoughts, "You're right, I was losing but then Merlin and Morgana joined their magic together and linked their minds to mine, adding their power to mine."

"Like you did to me during the second trial?" Arthur asked.

However before Isabelle could answer, something clicked in Arthur's mind.

"Wait Merlin _and _Morgana? You're not seriously telling me that she has magic as well."

The silence that followed his words answered Arthur's question loud and clear. He turned to look at Isabelle and found her avoiding his gaze, squirming guiltily in her saddle.

"Great, next thing I know you're going to be telling me that Guinevere has magic as well." Arthur muttered sarcastically, "She doesn't does she?" He asked sharply when Isabelle didn't comment.

"No, don't worry." Isabelle said swiftly, calming him, "She doesn't have any magic."

Arthur let out a sigh of relief that at least someone hadn't been lying to him. He sighed, why did things have to get so complicated? As much as he wanted to get back to Camelot as quickly as possible, he wasn't looking forward to the talks that were going to have to follow. He sighed, pushing those thoughts out of his head. For now they had to focus on getting the antidote to Merlin as soon as possible.


	24. Chapter 24

**Look I managed to update! It's a Christmas miracle! Thanks to all you awesome people who have reviewed and I hope you don't hate me too much after this. Enjoy and Merry Christmas to you all. x**

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Chapter 24

People scattered as two horses thundered through the streets of Camelot. They watched as their Crown Prince and his companion urged their horses faster towards the castle. Many of them made a note to keep well away from there today as the whole town knew the extent of the King's anger that the prince had left.

Arthur himself hadn't even considered his father's reaction, more concerned about getting the antidote to Merlin. Both he and Isabelle knew that they had to be quick, the confrontation with Hecate had eaten severely into their time and they had ridden through the night to catch up. Even then it was Merlin's tenth, and final, day since his poisoning.

As they pulled up into the courtyard Arthur jumped down from his horse and swiftly turned to help Isabelle dismount. Handing their reigns over to the stable hand who hurried over, they abandoned the supplies that were still slung over their mounts' backs and hurried towards the castle, practically running in their haste.

Arthur took the steps two at a time, Isabelle hot on his heels. They burst through the doors, ignoring the startled cries from the guards on the other side. Both nobles were feeling the adrenaline flooding through them as they prayed that they weren't too late.

They skidded past servants and knights, ignoring the bemused looks on their faces. Some of the knights called out to Arthur, surprised to see the prince after his absence. However he ignored them, focused on getting to Merlin. They had made good progress through the castle and Arthur was starting to believe that maybe they would make it there in time.

As they approached the great hall, needing to pass it to reach Gaius' chambers, their luck ran out. Word of their return had clearly spread swiftly through the castle and as they moved along the corridor the doors opened and Uther stepped out, determined to find his son.

The pair skidded to a halt in front of the king as he turned to face them, blocking their path.

"Arthur." Uther said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, "I'm glad to see you back safe."

"Father." Arthur acknowledged, moving to step round the king.

However Uther moved to block his path. A growl of frustration was torn from Arthur's throat as he realised that, short of striking his father, there was nothing he could do to get past. Whilst Uther's attention had been on Arthur, Isabelle tried to slowly slip past the king on his other side. She had the antidote safely tucked in a pouch on her skirt so she could administer it without Arthur. However Uther was no fool and he turned to face Isabelle, pinning her with an angry stare.

"Don't even think about moving Isabelle." He said sternly before turning back to Arthur, "Where have you been son?" He asked calmly.

"You know exactly where I've been father, I informed you before I left." Arthur replied, the anger clear in his voice, "Now we have to get to Merlin."

Arthur made another attempt to pass Uther but to no avail, Uther continued to block his path.

"My Lord please," Isabelle begged, "He's going to die otherwise."

"Be quiet Isabelle," Uther commanded, never removing his gaze from his son, "This doesn't concern you."

"It damn well does concern me!" Isabelle snapped.

Both Pendragons turned to stare at Isabelle shocked. Uther had never heard her snap like that before. She had always had such a calm temperament but worry for Merlin and lack of sleep had made her irritable and short-tempered. Uther cursed that she seemed to have fallen under whatever had his son so enamoured with the boy. If Uther didn't know better he'd have thought that the boy was a sorcerer and had cast a spell over them both. However that thought was so absurd, there was no way Arthur's fool of a manservant could be a sorcerer.

"Do you really think I'd have risked my life over something that didn't concern me? I care just as much as Arthur does if Merlin lives or dies and if you don't move out of our way then he definitely won't make it and I swear to god I will make sure you live to regret it." Isabelle fumed.

Uther stared at her stunned for a moment. He couldn't believe that the calm, sweet-tempered girl who had stayed at Camelot so many times had just threatened him over a simple servant. One that Uther was sure possessed some sort of mental affliction. However he had been king long enough to keep strict control over his expression and he recovered his composure quickly.

"I nearly had him executed whilst you were gone." Uther said conversationally.

Both of the young nobles gaped at him in appalled, shocked into silence.

"I thought it would teach you that people are expendable and that when you are king people will sacrifice themselves for you and you won't be able to save them all. You can always find a replacement." Uther explained, "But Gaius talked me out of it, he's extraordinarily attached to that boy."

"Merlin's practically his son it's no wonder he's attached!" Arthur exploded, "And I know that when I am king there will be hard times when sacrifices have to be made. But what sort of king would I be if I didn't try to help those I had it within my power to save?"

Uther was stunned by Arthur's heartfelt outburst and he seemed to be struggling with something. After what felt like an age to Arthur, Uther clapped him on the shoulder.

"You have grown up so much my boy." He said fondly, "I have no doubt that you will make an excellent king but sometimes I still see that little boy you used to be."

Isabelle glanced at Arthur to see him stunned by his father's words. She knew that he had spent most of his life trying to show his father that he was worthy and knew how much those words would mean to him. Maybe now he'd heard it from his father he would start believing it himself.

As touching as the moment father and son were having was, Isabelle knew that time was slipping away from them.

"Sire please," She begged again, "We don't have much time."

"We will talk about this more." He said sternly to the pair of them before stepping aside.

"Thank you sire." Isabelle sighed.

Arthur inclined his head in thanks, not trusting his voice, before both of them hurried past the king, heading towards Gaius' chambers.

x-x-x

Isabelle pushed the door open bursting into Gaius' room closely followed by Arthur. Morgana and Gaius were sat either side of the bed at the far end of the room.

"Oh thank the gods." Morgana whispered as she caught sight of both of them.

However Isabelle's attention was focused on the figure in the bed. Merlin looked dreadful. His skin had taken on a waxy hue and sweat was pouring off him as he tossed frantically, muttering nonsense under his breath.

"We have it." Arthur said, answering Gaius' unspoken question.

"Quickly now." Gaius said, the relief evident in his voice, "He's fading, there isn't much time."

Isabelle was at Merlin's side by this point and even she could see that he was fading despite the short amount of time she had been in the room. Merlin's tossing was becoming weaker and what little colour was left in his face was draining away. She pulled out the little bottle and sat down on the bed next to Merlin. Smiling sadly down at him she pushed his hair back from his forehead.

Unstoppering the bottle she gently tilted his head back. Carefully she poured the clear liquid into his open mouth. She chewed her lip fearfully as she made sure to get every drop into his open mouth. There was a brief moment where everyone in the room seemed to hold their breath. Isabelle sighed in relief as she saw Merlin's throat move as she swallowed the liquid.

She smiled as Merlin lay peacefully still. Isabelle placed a hand on Merlin's forehead and was relieved to feel that his raging temperature was gone. In fact he was cool to the touch.

A frown creased Isabelle's forehead as she realised that it wasn't right, Merlin shouldn't be that cold. Looking closer she realised that the colour wasn't returning to his face. He looked deathly pale and, as she hovered the back of her hand above his lips, he didn't seem to be breathing. Frantically Isabelle grabbed Merlin's hand, looking for proof that the antidote had worked. However what she felt sent a wave of ice cold fear flooded through her.

"I can't find a pulse."


	25. Chapter 25

**_Yes I know I said I'd have this up before New Year but you all probably know by now that I am rubbish at sticking to deadlines. Anyway Happy New Year to you all and thanks to everyone who is reading. Enjoy. x_**

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Chapter 25

Darkness, heat, pain. It was everywhere, surrounding him, consuming him. What felt like fire seemed to be flooding through his veins. Every nerve ending in his body was screaming at him. Every touch, every movement sent new waves of pain flooding through him. He tried to lessen the pain, adjusting and readjusting his position. But nothing seemed to work.

All he wanted to do was to cry out, to scream for the pain to stop, but he couldn't get his voice to work. All that seemed to come out was muttered nonsense. Not that he thought anyone would be able to hear him if he could scream. He was trapped in the darkness all alone, waiting for the pain to stop. He could feel the life ebbing out of himself and knew that it wouldn't be long now.

At least they were safe. That one thought had been the only thing that had kept him sane in the darkness. At least he had done his job one last time. He could feel the fear in the back of his mind trying to take over. What if they weren't safe? What if he had failed? And who were they? But he had to concentrate on the positive, knowing that they must be important, otherwise he knew the darkness would win.

He found that it was getting harder to move and all he could do now was shift slightly as he tried to relieve the pain. But even that wasn't giving him the slightest relief. The fire in his veins seemed to be getting hotter, burning him from the inside out. Although he was trying to fight he felt his energy draining out of him and the part of him that wanted to give in to the darkness was growing.

Suddenly he felt something cool on his forehead. It took him a moment but he soon realised that it was a hand pushing his hair back. Hope exploded in his chest as he realised that he wasn't alone, wherever he was. He tried to call out, to explain that he needed help, but he couldn't make his voice work at all.

Instead he strained his ears and managed to make out voices. But he felt like someone had stuffed cloth in his ears and he couldn't make out what they were saying. There was more than one person though, that he was sure of, maybe they could find a way to get him out of the darkness. Though the hope that had flared earlier was slowly ebbing away. He didn't have much time; it wasn't likely that they would be able to help him.

However all thoughts were driven from his mind as he felt his head being tipped back and something poured into his mouth. His first instinct was to fight it and he felt tension flood through him as his body tried to reject the intrusion. However he didn't have enough energy to cough it out and felt it slowly trickle down his throat.

But as it did he felt it cool the area it passed across, relieving the burning pain. Eagerly he swallowed the liquid, feeling the coldness spread from his throat throughout his body. It replaced the fire in his veins, filling his body with the cool relief. He sighed internally as he felt cool, almost cold, for the first time he could remember. He strained to hear the voices again but they seemed to have stopped. He frowned, or would have done if he had actually been able to move, and realised that they must have left him.

But then his arm was being grabbed roughly and pulled in front of him. He felt the cool hands groping at his wrist as if they were searching for something. He heard the voices again, sounding more panicked this time. And the cool hands were swiftly replaced with rougher ones that repeated the same searching motion. He briefly felt that he should probably try to help them find what they were looking for but he couldn't dredge up the energy to really care. Instead he focused on the hands that had now moved to his chest. He decided that they felt older than the first pair, more worn and wrinkled. However his attention was drawn away from those hands as the first hand slipped into his.

Then the movement stopped and the voices quietened again. He wondered if they had all left but the hand was still in his so he was satisfied that someone was still with him, even though he didn't know who it was. He felt weightless and another thought crossed his mind; maybe he was dead. That could be why everything felt so strange, this could be what being dead felt like. It wasn't unpleasant he decided, just a bit uncomfortable. He could feel the feeling returning to parts of his body but he still couldn't summon the energy to move any of them.

A sound reached his ears and he strained, trying to work out what it was. It didn't take long for him to realise that it was someone crying. That in itself felt weird to him. If he was dead then why could he hear crying? He tried to move his fingers to squeeze the hand in his to reassure them. Maybe they were afraid because they thought they were alone. However he couldn't make his fingers work to show them otherwise.

Instead he tried to open his eyes to see who was there. But that proved to be more difficult than he thought. They seemed too heavy and he really wanted to give in, to keep them shut and just let go. However another sob strengthened his focus and he tried, once again, to pull them open.

This time he had more success and he dragged his eyes open slightly. Instantly he was hit by a burning light. He screwed his eyes tight shut again, waiting for the spots to disappear from his vision. Once they had he tried again, blinking rapidly to try and clear his vision. It was still blurred however he managed to make out a figure bent over him. He couldn't make out a face as the figure seemed to be bent forward, it's dark hair covering its face.

"Am I dead?"

It was only after he had spoken the question that had popped into his head that he realised he had control of his voice again, albeit very croaky. The figure above him lifted its head to reveal a woman's face. His vision was still blurred but he was met with a pair of startling green eyes that he felt sure he should recognise but couldn't place.

"Merlin?"

He blinked again, trying to bring the woman into focus. Her voice sounded so familiar but he still couldn't place it. And the name she had spoken rang bells in the back of his mind, was it his?

All contemplation was put out of his head as the woman bent down and crashed her lips into his forcefully. He could feel the urgency behind the kiss and closed his eyes, melting into it. Suddenly something seemed to explode inside his head and memories started to flood back. His life flashed in front of his eyelids, images rushing past in a whirl of colour and light.

Ealdor, his mother, Will, Camelot, Gaius, Arthur, Gwen, Morgana, Isabelle.

Isabelle! Recognition flooded through him as the kiss ended and he realised who the woman was. She was looking down at him in concern but new images had arrived, jostling for attention as they pressed in on him.

Magic, light, the sword in the stone, the dragon, the druids, Emrys.

Merlin stared around him at the familiar faces he could now place. Arthur was stood on his left with one arm round Morgana who appeared to have been crying into the blonde's shirt. He smiled tentatively at the prince who smiled back broadly.

"It's good to see you awake." Arthur said uncomfortably, not keen on expressing his feelings, "Finally I'll have someone to finish doing my chores, your replacement was even worse than you are."

The words, which could have seemed heartless to anyone else, made Merlin smile as Arthur's face gave away the relief he was feeling. Also Merlin had a sneaking suspicion that Arthur had left for the druids the moment he had fallen ill and so hadn't exactly had a chance to find a replacement.

Morgana cuffed Arthur round the back of the head before turning to smile warmly at Merlin.

"You had us worried there for a moment, we thought you were dead."

"You can't get rid of me that easily." Merlin said with a smirk.

He heard Morgana laugh at that but his attention had been drawn to the woman who was perched on the edge of his bed. She looked like she expected this to be a dream she was about to wake up from and he squeezed the hand that was still in his.

"I thought you were dead." She whispered quietly, echoing Morgana's words.

"It's thanks to you that I'm not." He replied with a smile.

Merlin vaguely registered Arthur protesting that he had been there as well and Morgana hushing him but his focus was on Isabelle. She smiled at him brightly, tears still glistening in her eyes. Merlin tried to sit up however he was still weak and his body wasn't obeying him properly. He half wished for the cold weightlessness he had just left, at least there he couldn't feel the ache in every bone of his body. But the warm feeling that had replaced the cold was much more comforting and he felt relieved that they had brought the antidote back in time.

Isabelle put one hand on his chest, preventing him from sitting up. Merlin considered protesting but didn't think he had the energy to so he collapsed back onto the bed.

"You need to rest." She said.

"You sound like Gaius." Merlin replied with a teasing smile.

He glanced at the elderly physician who was stood just behind Isabelle and looking as in shock as she was. However the eye contact seemed to bring him back to the present and he smiled fondly at Merlin. Picking up a cup from the table behind him, Gaius moved forward and handed it to the young warlock.

"Here drink this; it will help you regain your strength." Gaius said as Merlin inspected the unappealing looking liquid, "I'm glad you're okay my boy."

Merlin looked back up at the elderly man and felt a stab of guilt as he saw how much more harrowed Gaius looked than he had before Merlin had been poisoned. But the genuine joy and relief on his face made Merlin smile at him fondly.

He turned back to the cup Gaius had given him and downed it in one go, grimacing at the foul taste. Instantly he felt his eyelids growing heavy and the weariness in his body increasing. Panicking he tried to fight it, wanting to stay awake.

"Relax Merlin." Gaius said soothingly, "It's a sleeping potion, you need to rest to regain your strength."

"I don't want to sleep." Merlin tried to say but the words came out more slurred than he'd intended.

"It's okay Merlin." Isabelle reassured him.

Merlin clutched at her hand fearfully as he felt the darkness engulfing him again.

"I don't want you to go."

"I'm not going anywhere."

Were the last words Merlin heard before he surrendered to the darkness.

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_**Originally this is where I was going to finish things (well there is an epilogue to come but this was going to be the last chapter before that) but many of you have said that you wanted to see Arthur having a talk with Merlin, Isabelle and Morgana about magic and so on so I'd really like to know if people still wanted to read that or would rather I left it here and just went onto the epilogue. I don't mind either way so please tell me what you think in a review or a PM or something. Thanks. **_


	26. Chapter 26

**Finally it's here, the final chapter. So as requested this is Arthur talking to the others about their magic. Sorry it took so long, I couldn't get it to flow right. Anyway after this all that's left is the epilogue. Thank you so much to everyone who has read this far and special thanks to those who have reviewed. I hope you enjoy this and I'll see you all in the epilogue! x**

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Chapter 26

When Merlin woke again he had to blink rapidly at the bright sunlight pouring into the room. His vision cleared and he struggled to sit up, glancing round the room. Instantly he felt an arm round his waist, holding him up, as they rearranged the pillows behind him so he could lean against them. A cup was brought into his line of sight and Merlin moved away from it, not wanting to be sent back to sleep again.

"You need to drink it Merlin."

Merlin glanced to his right to see that it was Isabelle who was holding the cup out to him and was propping him up. He leant back against the pillows behind him and Isabelle withdrew her arm from around his waist but, much to his despair, didn't put the cup down.

"I don't want to go back to sleep." Merlin said stubbornly.

She laughed at the stubborn expression on his face but didn't back down.

"Gaius was right, you are a terrible patient." She told him, "Don't worry; it's just to keep your strength up. It won't send you to sleep."

Merlin stared at the contents suspiciously for a moment before allowing Isabelle to pour it down his throat. He grimaced at the unpleasant taste but had to admit that he did feel a lot more awake once he had drunk it. Merlin moved to get out of the bed but before he had gotten anywhere he felt Isabelle pushing him back down onto the pillows.

"You can't get up yet Merlin." Isabelle scolded, "You need to rest."

"I've been lying in bed resting for the last week and a half, I need to get up." Merlin protested.

"Lying in bed poisoned is not the same as resting." She pointed out, much to his annoyance.

Merlin turned his pleading gaze on Isabelle, hoping he could get her to let him get up. However she just smiled fondly at him.

"Don't look at me like that, Gaius's orders." She said with a smirk, ignoring his pout.

"I hate resting in bed." Merlin sulked, "It's boring."

A wicked smile appeared on Isabelle's face and she leant towards him.

"Well I'm sure I can think of something to amuse you."

And with that she pressed her lips against his. Merlin sighed at the contact and reached up to wrap his arms around her. Isabelle moved off the chair she had been sat on at his bedside and perched on the edge of his bed, deepening the kiss. Merlin laced his fingers through her hair as he felt her hands running down his chest. He felt as if he could stay like that forever, wrapped up in her.

"Oh for goodness sake, get a room you two."

The voice cut through his bliss and Merlin moaned in protest as Isabelle pulled back. He turned to glare at whoever had spoken and spotted Arthur stood in the doorway. He narrowed his eyes at the prince and debated whether to use his magic to show Arthur how displeased he was at the interruption. He decided against it as Morgana entered the room behind Arthur.

"We had one till you interrupted." Merlin replied sulkily.

Isabelle and Morgana exchanged a look at the pairs bickering, smiling fondly. Arthur however ignored Merlin's subtle hint for him to leave and strode over to the bed the warlock was laying on, taking the seat that Isabelle had just vacated. She was still perched on the edge of the bed and Morgana took the chair on Merlin's other side.

"We need to talk." Arthur announced.

The three sorcerers stiffened slightly. They all knew what Arthur wanted to talk about and didn't really want to have the conversation that they had all known was coming. Isabelle stood up, swiftly followed by Morgana.

"Well we better be going." Isabelle said cheerfully, slowly moving towards the door.

"Sit down Isabelle." Arthur said, "You too Morgana."

The two girls sighed and returned to their seats.

"Traitor." Merlin whispered in Isabelle's ear.

His smile told her that he was joking and she slipped her hand into his and gave it a comforting squeeze. They turned their attention to Arthur who seemed to be having some sort of internal battle. Merlin knew that Arthur wasn't big on sharing and knew that he was having trouble deciding what to start with.

"So, you three are sorcerers?" He finally asked.

"Well I prefer warlock." Merlin replied cheerily.

"And we're more like sorceresses." Isabelle added, including Morgana in her comment.

Arthur rolled his eyes at them. He was glad to see that none of them seemed to have changed after the revelation of their secrets and that was making it easier for him to accept that they weren't evil and corrupt but it still hurt him that it had taken a life or death situation for them to tell him, and even then it hadn't really been their choice.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Arthur asked.

An uncomfortable silence followed Arthur's words. Each of them had their own reasons for not telling the prince but no one wanted to be the first to speak. All of them were deliberately avoiding Arthur's gaze, hoping that someone else would be the first to talk.

Arthur didn't fail to notice that the three of them exchanged a look that he clearly wasn't involved in as they tried not to catch his eye. He had to admit that he was as uncomfortable about the whole conversation as they were, magic had always been a tabooed subject in his life and now he was sat down with three sorcerers about to discuss it, but he knew how to hide his discomfort. He had to suppress a smile as he saw Merlin's feelings written across his face. Morgana and Isabelle had been brought up to be able to cope in uncomfortable diplomatic situations and they knew how to keep the mask in place. However Merlin had always worn his heart on his sleeve and Arthur could normally tell what he was feeling, he really was a terrible liar.

That thought wiped all the good humour out of him. He had always thought that Merlin was an awful liar but it seemed like he had been keeping so much from him. Arthur had to admit that that was what was infuriating him the most. He had told Merlin everything; his feelings for Gwen, his problems with his father, his doubts about the future, and yet Merlin seemed to have told him nothing.

"Arthur it was never that simple."

Morgana's words came just in time as Arthur was about to force an answer out of the young warlock. His gaze turned to the woman he had considered his sister for so long and saw her flinch back slightly at the anger in his eyes. Arthur felt marginally guilty but Morgana squared her shoulders and glared right back at him.

"You're sat there feeling so sorry for yourself yet you haven't even considered it from our point of view." She snapped, "You have no idea how it feels to spend your whole life terrified of the nightmares you have that seem to bring images of the future whilst you are told everyday that people who can see the future, people like you, are evil and corrupt and should be killed."

Silence fell after Morgana's rant and Arthur stared at the raven haired women in shock. He did have to admit that he hadn't really considered their side of things as he had been so wrapped up in the betrayal he had felt.

"For a long time I didn't know what was happening to me." Morgana continued to explain, "It's only recently that I realised that it was magic that I had and that it wasn't something to be afraid of. The druids helped me start to realise that and..."

"Wait the druids?" Arthur asked, things starting to slot together in his mind, "They didn't kidnap you did they?"

Morgana shook her head slowly and Arthur ran a hand through his hair in despair. Things were starting to make sense that hadn't at the time. The mysteriously smashed window in Morgana's room, Gwen telling him about the candle she was sure she had blown out, Morgana's strange mood once they had brought her home.

"I went to them to find out more. Merlin told me how to find them."

As soon as the words had left her mouth Morgana regretted speaking them. She hadn't meant to bring Merlin into it. She had thought it best to speak first as she could practically feel the fear pouring of Merlin as Arthur waited for him to speak. She'd known this conversation wasn't going to be pretty but, the moment Arthur had discovered their magic she knew it had to happen. Too much had been kept from the prince. Too much that they probably should have trusted him with earlier.

"He did, did he?" Arthur asked, turning his gaze his manservant.

Merlin shrugged uncomfortably under Arthur's gaze, not meeting the prince's eyes.

"And how did you know how to find them? Or is it the same sorcerer sense that seemed to lead Isabelle to them?" Arthur asked sceptically.

Merlin glanced at Isabelle as she shifted in her seat before turning his attention back to the prince.

"I saw the list of druid associates in your chambers and asked one of them how to find them." Merlin explained half-heartedly.

"And they told you?" Arthur asked incredulous, "Just like that?"

Merlin shrugged.

"What can I say, I have a trusting face."

Arthur rolled his eyes at this but inwardly he was still processing what he had just learnt. It seemed there was a lot more going on under his nose that he was completely unaware of. He glanced at Isabelle and realised that it was unlikely that she had found out their location that way, they hadn't really had time for that. Also it had been a long time since she was in Camelot and Arthur thought it unlikely that they had remained in the same spot for all that time.

"How did you know where they were?" He asked the nervous women.

Isabelle glanced up and met his gaze for the first time since they had started this conversation.

"I could feel their magical presence." She explained, "That many people with magic in one place give out a much larger aura. I just followed the strongest trace and the likelihood was that it would be them."

This didn't make much sense to Arthur but Merlin seemed to completely understand what she was on about.

"You can do that?" He asked amazed.

"Sure it's easy. I thought everyone could." She replied turning her attention from Arthur to Merlin and Morgana.

Merlin shook his head and Morgana looked as confused as Arthur. The prince could see Merlin mulling something over and he was about to interrupt when the young warlock spoke.

"No, I've never been able to tell who has magic and who hasn't unless I've seen them using it." Merlin mused.

"I've always been able to tell whether a person possesses magic or not, I just thought it was something everyone could do." Isabelle replied puzzled.

"Is that how you knew about my magic?" Merlin asked.

"Wait a minute." Arthur interrupted, "Are you telling me that you already knew Merlin had magic?"

"Well yeah, Morgana as well." Isabelle said turning to the other woman, "I've always known but I thought you did too, I'm sorry."

Morgana smiled slightly. She knew that it wasn't Isabelle's fault but a small selfish voice in the back of her mind was telling her that if Isabelle had mentioned it years ago then they could have avoided a lot of torment and confusion.

"It's not your fault." She replied quietly, her wary gaze flickering to Arthur.

"So how did you not know that other people don't have this magic sense?"

Isabelle smiled at Arthur's description of it before letting out a weary sigh; she knew this was going to get complicated.

"Well it's not like I had a chance to sit down and compare abilities with anyone. Father always told me that I couldn't tell anyone about my magic. He feared that word would get back to Uther and any alliances we had would be ruined." She explained, "From birth it was ingrained into me not to tell anyone that I possessed magic so I didn't really have a chance to learn what was normal. There was a herbal woman back home who taught me healing magic. But her magic was limited and so there was only so much she could teach me."

Arthur mulled this over. Isabelle had already explained how her father had made sure that she never told anyone about her magic and so it did make sense that she wouldn't have associated with any other sorcerers. He considered asking her about Perses but remembered the pain he had seen in her eyes when he had been mentioned before and didn't want to bring that forward again. Also he reasoned that they were both children and so there couldn't be that much they could teach each other.

"So how did you learn you had magic then?" Arthur asked Merlin.

A small part in the back of Arthur's mind was protesting against even asking this of anyone but he had to push the instincts that had been ingrained in him aside. He knew that if any of them were going to be able to move forward from this then he was going to have to fight a lot of the lesson's his father had taught him.

To his annoyance Merlin seemed to be smiling at the question. Arthur didn't understand why Merlin found that question so amusing but managed to bite down the comment that he was itching to speak.

"I don't have magic, I am magic." Merlin answered simply.

"What on earth is that supposed to mean?" Arthur snapped, after the trip to the druids he was sick of cryptic comments.

"I was born with magic like Isabelle and Morgana but my magic isn't like theirs, it isn't like anyone's really." Merlin faltered, unsure of the right words to explain it, "My magic is much more of a part of me than it is anyone else. It would be as easy for me to give up magic as it would for you to give up breathing Arthur."

A look of surprise crossed Arthur's face at this but he quickly pulled his emotions back under control. He was having trouble comprehending his image of his bubbly, clumsy manservant with this being of magic that it turned out he was.

"Arthur do you remember the story I was telling Bliant and the other children at the druids camp, the one about Emyrs?" Isabelle asked suddenly.

"The all powerful sorcerer you said was supposed to help me unite all of Albion?" Arthur replied, unsure what this had to do with anything.

"Well it's more than a story. The druids have prophecies about Emyrs and whoever was worthy enough to pull that sword from the stone."

Arthur's mind jumped to the sword that was currently lying on the table in his room as Isabelle spoke. He had filled his father in on what had happened whilst they were away, well the edited version anyway, but he hadn't known how he was supposed to explain that he had been able to pull the sword out of the stone. In fact he hadn't really been able to comprehend it himself and he been keeping a carful distance from the sword since they had returned.

"So you're telling me that Merlin's magic is like this Emyrs person's?" He asked.

"No I'm telling you Merlin is Emyrs."

Arthur was unable to contain the shock that flooded through him at Isabelle's revelation. It was one thing to learn that Merlin had magic and quite another to discover that he was the most powerful warlock in all of Albion who was supposed to help him unite the land. The embarrassed expression on Merlin's face confirmed that Isabelle was speaking the truth even if it seemed the other boy would have preferred that knowledge not to have come out.

"That confirms it." Arthur stated firmly, "I am definitely dreaming. Any minute now I'm going to wake up and discover that this was all just a really weird dream."

Merlin smiled sheepishly at him but didn't reply. Isabelle leant over and pinched Arthur's arm.

"Ow." He cried, running his arm, "What was that for?"

"I was just checking you weren't dreaming." She replied, smiling sweetly.

"This is ridiculous." Arthur said stubbornly, "Next you're going to be telling me that Merlin has spent the entire time he's been in Camelot saving my life."

The sheepish look on Merlin's face increased as he replied;

"Not the _entire_ time."

"You have got to be joking." Arthur replied, dropping his head into his hands.

**

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Just the epilogue to go! I'd love to know what you guys think as always.


	27. Epilogue

**So this is it, the end of the road, the final chapter. Thank you so much to everyone who has read this far and extra thanks to those of you who have reviewed, I have loved reading them all. Special thanks has to go to Roses-as-lips for her amazing beta during this, she has been a lifesaver. **

**This chapter is set about eight years later, Arthur has been king for about five. It isn't really precise but that was how I was picturing it. I really hope you enjoy this final part and I would love to hear from you guys one last time. Thanks and enjoy! x**

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Epilogue

Isabelle sat in the courtyard watching the many people bustling around her. She loved to sit and observe the vast array of people that passed through every day. Smiling at the pair of boys who wondered past her bickering, reminding her of another pair of bickering men, she rested her hand on the bulge in her stomach, feeling her baby move under her fingers. He, for Isabelle was convinced it was going to be a boy, was definitely a kicker and had kept her up many nights with his constant tossing and turning. Though she was thankful that she could feel him moving, it calmed her worries about his health. She had seen too many women give birth to a stillborn and feared that it would happen to her.

A sharp kick to her stomach told her that she had nothing to worry about at the moment and she softly caressed her bump. A cry echoed through the courtyard as Isabelle heard the distinct sound of hooves thundering through the town.

"The king is back!"

Isabelle's smile widened at this news. She had missed the group that had been gone for over a week and was glad that they had finally returned. Although she had been able to use her magic to stay in contact with them she had still worried for their safety.

A crowd had gathered as people stopped to catch a glimpse of their returning monarch. Isabelle stood up and moved over to the steps into the castle, wanting to be able to great them as soon as possible. She watched as the returning group entered the courtyard and made their way towards the castle. Many of them broke away to great friends and family however the man at the front continued forward, his gaze focused on Isabelle.

She broke into a wide smile as he reached her and she moved forward, stepping into his warm embrace. King Arthur gave her a quick squeeze before pulling back and smiling warmly at her. Isabelle's gaze searched the blonde king in front of her for any injury. Satisfied that he hadn't returned hurt she finally spoke.

"It's good to have you home. I missed you."

"You missed _me_?" Arthur asked with a mischievous smile, "Are you sure about that?"

Isabelle rolled her eyes at his teasing. She knew exactly what he was getting at but she ignored his comment.

"Of course I did. With you gone I didn't have anyone to fob Morgana off on." She smirked.

"Is she still that bad?" Arthur asked.

"Yes. I think planning a wedding has driven her over the edge." Isabelle replied.

"Poor Lancelot doesn't know what he's getting himself into. I tried to warn him but he doesn't listen." Arthur said with a mock sigh.

"I wonder why." Isabelle rolled her eyes, "But I swear I wasn't anywhere as near as bad as her when it was my wedding."

She glared as Arthur scoffed at her comment.

"Isabelle you were just as bad as Morgana is. I distinctly remember Merlin hiding from you in the week before the ceremony you were that stressed."

"So he was hiding from me, I knew it." Isabelle mused.

Arthur felt a flash of guilt as he realised he may have gotten his court sorcerer and adviser in trouble but pushed it aside. If Merlin hadn't learnt how to deal with Isabelle by now then he was much more of an idiot than Arthur had originally thought.

"Speaking of Merlin, where is my husband?" Isabelle asked, "You didn't leave him behind again did you?"

"That happened once!" Arthur protested, "And it was his own fault really!"

Isabelle just raised her eyebrows at the king, remembering all too well what had happened that day.

"Anyway we didn't leave him behind; he's in the stables dealing with the horses."

Isabelle's expression changed to a frown at his words.

"Arthur he's not your manservant anymore. You can't have him dealing with your horses, that's not his job anymore." Isabelle scolded.

"I know that." Arthur replied defensively, "I told him that but he said he had some spell he wanted to try or something."

Isabelle opened her mouth to reply however, before she could, she felt another kick to her belly which made her jump, both hands flying to her bump.

"Are you alright?" Arthur asked, his voice laced with anxiety.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Isabelle replied, waving away his concern.

It still made her jump when her conversation was interrupted by the baby's movements. It was really disconcerting to be talking to someone and then to suddenly feel him moving inside of her.

"Are you sure you should be out here? Why aren't you inside resting?" Arthur asked worried.

"Arthur I'm six months pregnant, I'm not dying. I don't need to be resting all the time." Isabelle sighed, "Don't you start coddling me as well; Merlin already treats me as if I'm going to break at any moment. Besides the court physician said it was fine for me to be out and about."

"Isabelle you _are_ the court physician." Arthur replied sceptically.

"Exactly, so I know what I'm talking about." She said, flashing him a smile.

Isabelle could see that Arthur was ready to protest however before he did his attention was caught by something behind her. She turned to see that a figure had left the castle and was slowly making their way down the steps towards them. Queen Guinevere had one hand on her much largely belly than Isabelle's and the other held out to balance her.

"She on the other hand definitely shouldn't be out here. She's due in the next couple of weeks." Isabelle remarked.

Arthur swiftly made his way round her and met his wife halfway down the steps. The crowd had mostly dispersed, however those who remained cheered as they saw their king sweep the queen into his arms and press a kiss to her lips. Isabelle watched fondly as he started to scold her for being out of the castle. But she knew full well that Gwen was trying to escape Morgana. The raven haired woman's wedding was in a couple of days and she had been frantic for the last week, worrying that something was going to go wrong. Merlin had tried to inform her that Lancelot wouldn't care if everything possible went wrong as long as they were declared man and wife. But Morgana had nearly bitten his head off and he hadn't tried to calm her down again since. In fact Isabelle had a sneaking suspicion that he and Arthur had planned this trip to escape Morgana.

Thinking of her husband she turned around and surveyed the slowly emptying square for him. She frowned, wondering what could be taking him so long. However she didn't have to wait long as soon she felt the familiar tingle in her magic. Turning to her left she spotted the mop of messy black hair making its way towards her. A huge smile appeared on her face as she started to move towards him, itching to be near him after so long.

Reaching her Merlin pulled his wife into a tight embrace and she buried her head into chest, breathing in his familiar sent. She felt his arm around her waist, his other hand buried in her hair, and sighed in contentment. Pulling back slightly she reached up, pressing their lips together.

Neither of them was sure how long they remained like that for however they were interrupted as Merlin felt a little hand tugging on his trousers. Pulling apart he glanced down at the little girl who was smiling up at him.

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" She cried reaching for him.

Merlin exchanged a smile with Isabelle before swooping down and pulling his daughter into his arms. Her messy black hair was so like his however her startling green eyes peered up at him, the spitting image of her mother's.

"Hey sweetie." He said fondly, "Did you miss me?"

Isabelle smiled fondly as Merlin dropped a kiss on the top of her head causing the little girl to frown and smooth down her hair, not that it ever stayed smooth for long.

"Daddy!" She protested.

"Did you not miss me then Armida?" Merlin asked pouting.

"Of course I did daddy!" Armida squealed, throwing her arms around Merlin's neck.

"I missed you." Merlin said to Isabelle over Armida's head.

"I missed you too." She replied, moving closer so that the three of them were pressed together.

However Armida decided that she didn't like this arrangement and started squirming in Merlin's arms. The warlock had to relent and he gently put her down where she went running over to the man who had accompanied her into the courtyard. Bliant yielded to her pulling at his hand and followed her over to the pair. Isabelle smiled at her young apprentice. True to her words she had returned to the Druids' camp the day Arthur had revoked the laws upon magic in Camelot. She had brought Bliant, along with many of the children and even some of the adults, back to Camelot and had helped the lot of them settle into life in the city.

When she had become court physician she had instantly made the talented young boy her apprentice and he was now as good a, if not better, physician than she was. And extremely capable of taking over whilst her pregnancy limited the things she could do.

"I'm sorry I know I was supposed to be watching her but she knew Emyrs was back, don't ask me how, and she was adamant she wanted to see him." Bliant explained sheepishly.

Merlin scowled as Bliant referred to him as Emyrs. He strongly disliked being called that however it seemed like more and more people had heard of him as Emrys and many of them, including the Druids, refused to call him anything else. Isabelle smiled as her daughter beamed up sweetly at the young man. Armida seemed to have half the castle wrapped around her little finger and Isabelle knew that Bliant could never say no to her. Arthur had claimed that she had inherited that talent from her mother, but once Isabelle had threatened to hex him into the next week he had stopped telling people this.

"It's alright, it's a magic thing. Hers is so much like his that she gets extra stroppy when he's not here and can always tell when he's near." Isabelle reassured her young apprentice.

"We're still here you know." Merlin said with a smile as Armida scowled.

"I'm not stroppy." She protested.

Isabelle just smiled fondly at her and ruffled her hair, causing the little girl's scowl to increase.

"Why don't you show daddy the new spell you learnt whilst he was away?" She suggested.

A bright smile lit up Armida's face and she grabbed hold of Merlin's hand, dragging him to the centre of the courtyard, wanting to show off to as many people as possible.

"She likes to show off doesn't she?" Bliant observed with a smile.

"That she does. I would say she got it from Arthur except their not actually related." Isabelle replied smirking, "I guess I'll just have to take the blame for it."

Bliant laughed and Isabelle turned to inspect the younger man. He had changed so much from the little boy she had met at the Druids camp. The sandy haired boy had grown into a handsome young man and Isabelle had seen more than a few women giving him appreciative glances.

"Well I'd better get back. Do you want me to take Armida with me?" Bliant offered.

Isabelle glanced over to where the little girl was showing Merlin the blue balls of light she had managed to create. Her heart swelled as she saw the proud smile on Merlin's face and the one of pure joy on Armida's.

"No don't worry; she'll be fine with us. I think you'd have trouble tearing her away from Merlin anyway."

Bliant smiled at that and squeezed her arm before heading back to his chambers. Isabelle watched her family happily for a few moments before turning back to check on her extended family. Gwen and Arthur were still stood on the steps, bickering about whether Gwen she should be resting or not. Isabelle watched the couple and knew that, even if they were arguing now they would be laughing together in a couple of minutes.

Once Merlin had recovered from his poisoning, all those years ago, Isabelle had spent a long time thinking over what Azaria had sent at the Druids' camp. Isabelle hadn't really been keen on either future the blind woman had told her she had seen however she had feared that one of them would. And true enough Uther soon decided to announce to her and Arthur that he thought it would be beneficial for them to marry. However both she and Arthur had put their foot down and refused outright. That had caused Uther to shout and threaten them for a couple of days before he eventually realised that they weren't going to be persuaded.

That just left the second future. Although Azaria had told her that she wasn't going to make it back to Camelot, and she was living proof that that was wrong, Isabelle still feared that the rest would come to pass. That was why when Lancelot returned to join Arthur's knights she had treated him warily, wondering what his intentions for the current Queen were. However she had little to worry about as he had Morgana had become involved, love at first sight. Well not really first sight as Morgana had shouted at him the first time they met as Lancelot had taken a wrong turn and ended up in her rooms as she was changing, but at least second or third sight. The pair had become inseparable and Isabelle thought it highly unlikely that Lancelot was going to leave her for Gwen.

Similarly there had been a moment, before Lancelot had returned, that Isabelle feared they were going to lose Morgana to her sister. Morgause could be extremely manipulating when she wanted to be and there had been a moment where it had seemed that Morgana would leave and join her. However Morgana was not the same frightened girl scared of what was happening to her. Both Merlin and Isabelle had helped her to master her magic and she had finally realised that it wasn't something to be afraid off.

Isabelle jumped as she was brought out of her thoughts by a pair of arms snaking around her waist. She turned in the embrace and smiled at Merlin, leaning her forehead against his. His hands moved to rest on her bump.

"Are you two okay?" He asked trying, and failing, to hide the concern in his voice.

"We're fine, everything's okay." She replied.

"Good." He muttered, "I'm sorry we were away for so long. Things were more complicated than we thought."

"They always are." Isabelle smiled, "It's okay though, you're here now."

"We saw Tristan on the way. He's fine, he sends his regards."

Isabelle relaxed at the discovery that her brother was okay. She knew that he and his wife Isolde had been having trouble with the king of Cornwall, to whom Isolde was originally engaged, and it was a relief to hear that they were safe.

"I'm glad." She muttered happily, "Where's Armida?"

"Begging 'uncle' Arthur for a horse all of her own because I said she couldn't have one as she was too young."

"You know if you leave her with him for five minutes and he'll have given in?" Isabelle asked.

"Yeah but then he'll have to go through all the trouble of finding one suitable for her not me." Merlin replied cheekily.

Isabelle smiled and rolled her eyes. She knew the soft spot that Arthur had for Armida and that there was no way he was ever going to be able to say no to her.

"His son is going to be so spoilt." Isabelle muttered.

"Son? They're having a boy?" Merlin asked, eyes wide.

Isabelle gasped as she realised what she had let slip but nodded in confirmation when Merlin asked.

"Arthur will be pleased." Merlin muttered, "Not that he wouldn't have been happy with a girl it's just that I know he wanted a male heir."

The pair of them stood in silence for a long time. Isabelle's arms around Merlin's neck and the warlocks hands resting on her belly.

"We've come such a long way." She murmured.

"I know. Just think that Gwen and I were mere servants five years ago."

"And now she's the queen and you're the court sorcerer and the king's most trusted adviser."

"Though Arthur would probably deny the most trusted bit." Merlin smirked.

Isabelle laughed and leaned closer to Merlin, thanking whatever gods may be up there that they had been lucky enough to find each other and that things were looking good. After all she had once been told that the future was what you made it, and she planned to make it amazing.


End file.
